


The Rise and Fall

by Kalte, travisTea



Series: Contracts and Deals [3]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol, Angst, Blood and Gore, Cannibalism, Dismemberment, Drug Use, Explicit Sexual Content, Graphic Description of Corpses, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Murder, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Trauma, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:21:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 154,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23234659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalte/pseuds/Kalte, https://archiveofourown.org/users/travisTea/pseuds/travisTea
Summary: With Angel Dust back in the controlling possession of Valentino, the Radio Demon is left with nothing but guilt, wondering if the sacrifices he made were really worth it? Will Alastor forget about his mistakes and move on, or will he be persuaded to come up with a plan to put an end to this for good?Book three for Contracts and Deals
Relationships: Alastor/Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust & Fat Nuggets (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust & Molly (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust/Valentino (Hazbin Hotel), Charlie Magne/Vaggie
Series: Contracts and Deals [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1599298
Comments: 191
Kudos: 304





	1. 20 Days

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings and welcome back to Hell!  
> We are your hosts, Travis and Kalte!  
> We'd like to dedicate the first four chapters to our reader whose birthday is coming up very shortly! 
> 
> Hopefully this will be enough to satisfy your needs to get an idea of all that's going on. We left everyone hanging a bit before Alastor came in and put a stop to our sadism.
> 
> Without further ado, 
> 
> Book Three: The Rise and Fall

_Present Day..._

666 News was contacted and an interview was set up with Valentino and Angel Dust.

Of course, Valentino was eager to show off his regained pride and joy for all of Hell to see and to reassure them that the content they used to love, would be back in effect for them to enjoy once again.

The overlord sat in one of the dressing rooms with Angel Dust, waiting to be brought out for the live interview to begin.

"Now, you're going to smile and behave yourself, right Angie?~"  
Valentino asked as he stood behind the arachnid sitting in one of the chairs, looking himself in the mirror.

There was no sign or hint that Angel was even alive. His colors were faded and dim, eyes expressionless, all his lively glossiness was lost and his form was loose and limp.

"Answer me, Angel."  
Valentino commanded, eyes narrowing behind the pink tinted heart shaped glasses as he used his index fingers to hook into the corners of the spider's mouth and pull lightly to force a smile.  
"Surely after all that time with the Radio Demon, you'd know how to give a proper smile, hm?"

Angel blinked slowly, keeping his eyes focused on himself in the mirror as he gave a small nod and made minimal effort in maintaining the smile Valentino was forcing to his face.

Removing his fingers, the overlord gave a smile of his own paired with a pat on the spider's shoulders.

"There's my happy Angel!~"  
He chimed.  
"I think it's time for you to take your pills, Angie. You'll look so much better if you do."  
Valentino added before turning to the door as a knock sounded, a demon poking her head into the room.

As soon as Valentino had turned away, Angel's forced smile quickly faded.

"We're ready for you now.”  
She stated in a bored tone, clipboard in hand.

With a bit of a sigh, Valentino held his hand out to Angel Dust. Normally he wouldn't, but having just gotten him back, he wanted to be at least somewhat pleasant towards him in hopes that he would cheer up and return to how he was before he was so rudely taken away.

Angel's lifeless gaze slowly shifted towards the arm offered to him. He hadn't slept the previous night and was too tired to fight or start rebelling. Slowly raising one of his upper hands, he weakly took Valentino's arm and stood.

"Remember to keep that smile, Angie. Your fans _love_ seeing you smiling."  
Valentino gently reminded, leading his employee out of the dressing room and through the halls as they followed their escort.

As they made it to the room that was set up for their interview, Valentino brought Angel to the couch, sitting down and pulling the arachnid into his lap. Of course, being tired and completely drained of energy, Angel complied. His eyes stayed on the floor and he made sure to keep a small smile as asked of him.

Valentino's head tilted slightly, keeping a hand on Angel's lower back as he began to speak, head shaking slightly.  
"Angie, I would've warned you about him. And I've told you many times before that you can't trust _anyone_ down here."

Angel could feel tears start to threaten his eyes, but did everything in his power to keep them from falling by closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.  
"I know..."  
Was all he managed to get out, voice just above a shaky whisper.

Pulling a handkerchief from his inner coat pocket, Valentino gingerly wiped Angel's eyes.  
"You'll get over it, Angel Cakes. Everything will go back to how it was- even then, it'll be better. You'll have your condo back, you'll have a raise, and you'll be able to have everything you could ever want and need again. I'm not going to hold anything against you. I guess... you just needed to go out and learn this lesson on your own."

Angel still couldn't bring himself to speak, only giving another small nod in understanding. But what he felt was quite the opposite. He couldn't understand this at all...

With all of the tears soaked up by the small piece of fabric, Valentino tucked it back into his luxurious red velvet coat and ran his fingers through the spider's hair before helping fluff his chest up a bit.

Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench entered the room shortly after, the female grinning widely as she took the armchair beside the couch and Tom took the armchair to the right of her.

"It's great to have you both here! We're so _pleased_ you reached out to us!"  
Killjoy grinned, though her words were obviously a forced kind of happy through clenched teeth.  
"When we start, we'll ask you questions and all you have to do is answer them.” She briefly explained in a rather condescending tone.

Valentino, as he listened, brushed a bit of Angel's loose hair out of his face, sitting back in his armchair.

"You don't have to speak if you're not ready, Angel Cakes. We wouldn't want you to look bad."  
He whispered against the side of the spiders head.

"We're live in five... four... three..."  
A demon counted down from behind the camera, using their fingers and mouthed 'two, one' before the red light on the camera lit up, signaling that they were finally live.

***

As it did with all breaking news stories, a double ding of a notification sounded out from the phone belonging to a familiar demon. A demon that had been more than worrying over the past night due to the lack of a call or even a text from her brother- something that he'd promised to give Molly upon getting home safely.

As soon as the notification bell chimed, Molly jumped for her phone. She hadn't slept the night before for various reasons. At first it was because she was caught up with the demon she and Angel had met at the club, Stewart. Then her worries started to kick in as she checked her phone afterwards for the text from her brother... which never came.

Seeing the title of the current live news interview, her eyes immediately widened at the sight of Valentino's name accompanied by the famous Angel Dust.

Hands almost shaking, Molly scrambled to unlock her phone, pulling up the live feed and turning up the volume.

"Good morning, Pentagram City! Breaking news and a live interview with the big boss of the Porn industry this morning!"  
Killjoy's voice rang through Molly's phone, the camera panning out to show Valentino with Angel still in his lap.

"Valentino, you've regained custody of your former favorite only _hours_ ago and you say you have a message to send out to your viewers that was apparently _so_ important you insisted that the interview happened as soon as possible! Why don't you go ahead and give your small message so we can all move on?"  
It was clear in the woman's voice that she was seething about the sudden change in regular scheduling, yet still managed to keep some professionalism to her words.

"Yes, I've got quite the fun update for all of my loyal little voyeurs."  
The overlord seemed to glance towards Tom Trench for a split second.

"With the events of last night, everyone's favorite Angel Dust has come back to us. We have big plans and _a lot_ of catching up to do from the break he took to learn a few things for himself."

Killjoy just nodded, smile so painfully ingenue.  
"Why, he looks exhausted! You must have been working away all night to start on all of that promised content! How long until your viewers get what they've been itching for?"

"Mmmm, yes, Angel definitely had a rough night. We're looking at two weeks for the content to start being released. I know that's quite the wait, but I assure everyone it will be well worth the wait."  
Valentino replied, moving his upper set of arms up to rest loosely on the back of the couch.

"Fantastic! Tom over here wouldn't shut his _damn_ mouth once he heard that you had news regarding Angel. If only you'd release it _now_ instead of in two weeks!"  
Katie then glared at her co-host to which Tom seemed to straight himself out a bit, avoiding eye contact with the intimidating woman.

"Is there anything else you'd like to add before we wrap this up?"  
Tom then asked Valentino, trying to take the focus away from him, causing Katie's neck to snap loudly back towards their guests.

"Ah- just one more thing, I suppose. I appreciate the time you've provided me for this important announcement."  
Valentino's attention was brought back towards the camera.  
"You have your merciless ruler to thank for returning Angel Dust to you all. Make sure you give him all your best and thank him oh so _dearly_."  
The overlord chuckled lightly, eyes piercing into the camera.

"Angel Dust, is there anything _you'd_ like to say to your admirers?"  
Katie asked.

Angel's attention slowly raised from the floor and towards the camera, forcing a small smile. There was clear pain in his eyes as he continued trying to remain composed.  
"I look forward to making you all happy again... I'm sorry for leavin' you all hangin' for so long. I promise it won't happen again... I'll be a good boy f-"

Molly closed the app, a hand covering her mouth and eyes wide in disbelief. She almost felt sick.

Flinching a little as the weight beside her on the bed shifted, a warm arm suddenly wrapped itself around her waist, a pair of soft lips pressing gently to her shoulder.

"What's the matter, darling?"  
Stewart hummed, having just woken up; his dark hair and ears askew, appearance and overall voice tired yet equally content.

Molly was already questioning her actions of the night before, starting to wonder who to really pin the blame on. At first she thought Valentino, thinking his goons had gotten ahold of her brother and forcefully taken him back. And then she started to blame herself. If she'd just taken the time to escort Angel home herself and not give into her desires, maybe he'd be safe...

But then she recalled something that had almost been completely tuned out on her part.

Valentino said that Alastor was to thank for this.

"I'm sorry Stew, but I have to go. I have someone I need to pay a little visit to."  
She stated softly, trying to keep her anger inside, waiting to dish it out to the demon who deserved it rather than the innocent man in the bed.

The spider then began getting dressed, gathering her clothes from around the room, making it quick.  
"I know where to find ya in the future. I'd love to see ya again."  
She added as she finished dressing. She then grabbed her handbag and pulled a piece of paper out and set it on the nightstand.  
"Here's my number."

And with that, she quickly vacated the building, leaving a lightly confused Stewart in his bed to wake up on his own; the arachnid absolutely seething as she made her way to the Radio Demon's abode. She knew exactly where it was; and it would be an utter lie if she said she was only going to talk to him.

No, she was going to _really_ let him have it.

***

Alastor did not sleep that night. He spent all night up until the early hours of the morning pacing up and down the floor of his basement, in a state only to be described as distraught. Even as the hours passed, morning soon arriving, Alastor had not left the darkened interior of that underground space.

Not owning any form of modern technology, it was no surprise that Alastor did not catch that mornings 666 news, however that didn't mean that the Radio Demon wasn't fully aware of the story going around. He knew the truth, and if the media was going to spread any lies- as it usually did, then that was fine. Alastor knew what was true and what wasn't.

If there was one thing he'd hadn't been expecting at this time, then it was visitors.

There was knocking at the door and despite Alastor's attempts to ignore, it continued to persist. It was so loud, that even from the basement it was as clear as anything.

Clearing his throat and straightening himself up, Alastor materialized back up to the ground level in front of the door, swinging it open, his eyes visibly tired, demeanor now irritated.

A barrel of a handgun was pointed right at him, a demon that could only be described as furious wielding the weapon. And as crazy as it was, for a brief moment Alastor did see Angel right in front of him. But it was not.

"Molly. I can see you're upset."  
The Radio Demon tried, no doubt in his mind over the reason she was here. He'd expected the News to jump on this story already, and she had clearly seen the result of that.

Molly stepped inside, keeping the gun pointed at the Radio Demon as she pushed him back into the house and shut the door behind her.  
And as soon as that door was closed, all Hell broke loose.

"Why? Why did you _do_ that to him!? My brother _fucking trusted_ you!! I trusted you! Was he not good enough for you? Was he just some _toy_ to you? How could you do such a thing!? He _loved_ you, Alastor!"  
By this point of her rant she was starting to tear up, her words cracking but still she made sure to keep her posture strong, keeping the gun against the deer's forehead.

"He loved you more than _anything_ and you just... gave him back...?"  
Tears were now starting to stream down her cheeks, her voice small and shaking.

Alastor knew she had every right to be mad- her words were no doubt justified. It wasn't the gun pressed to his head that he was worried about. It was the consequences of Molly knowing the truth. For all Alastor knew, right after storming her way here, the porn studios could be her next stop. And that in itself was dangerous. Valentino wouldn't allow Molly to just walk in and tell him off just as she'd done to Alastor- no, Valentino wouldn't hesitate in disposing of her. And Alastor didn't want that. For Angel's sake.

"Molly dear, you must know it wasn't my intention this whole time- I love your brother. I... had my reasons for doing as I did."  
The deer didn't fight her, letting her push him back up against the wall of the hallway, cold barrel of the gun still firmly pressed to his forehead.

Molly simply closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to stay strong for both her and her brother.

"He loved you... probably more than he ever loved James... and James was a good _fucking_ man, Alastor! There's _no_ excusable reason for this!"  
Arm shaking as she clutched the gun, slowly her finger moved over the trigger, forcing the barrel harder against Alastor's forehead.  
"I'm not sorry..."  
And with that, Molly pulled the trigger.  
However...nothing but an empty click sounded.

In her blind rage, the spider had forgotten to reload her gun. It took a moment for her to register that nothing had happened, slowly retracting the weapon from Alastor's forehead with a sniffle, dropping it to the floor before looking down at her now empty hand.

"How could you betray someone who'd be by your side no matter what...? I don't.... I don't _understand_..."  
She couldn't fight the overwhelming sadness anymore. It was far too much for her to keep inside.

Alastor didn't move, Hell, he didn't even flinch as he heard the trigger pull. But when nothing happened, his eyes narrowed in the slightest, stepping away from the female.

"There is no excuse Molly, I know. I _want_ to tell you, but I cannot."  
There was a sadness present in his voice as well, the deer biting down a little on the inside of his cheek, not being able to bare to look Molly in the eyes currently.  
"You have to understand I-...my actions are inexcusable and I could apologize a million times over and it would mean nothing, my dear. Please Molly, you can blame me, aim your firearms at me or even beat me to the ground and I wouldn't blame you. Angel was and still is everything to me. And I promise-"

"You can't promise _SHIT_ to me at this point!! You can't tell me _anythin'_ and have me believe it- even if it's clear fact!"  
The arachnid suddenly shouted, enraged as she lunged forwards, grabbing Alastor by the lapels of his jacket and pulling him close to her threateningly.

"He was loyal to you! When we went out last night he didn't even look at anyone else! You _can't_ tell me you loved him! If you _did_ love him you wouldn't have done that!"

Reluctantly pushing the Radio Demon away, Molly whipped out her phone, pulling up the recording of the interview and shoved it up to his face.  
"You can't tell me that isn't _pain_! That's the face of someone who's been broken so many times that they don't even care anymore! That's the face of someone who's given up on _everything_ and _everyone!_ That's not even my brother anymore! I don't know _who_ that is, Al!"

As the arachnid shouted, Alastor turned his head, gaze staying on the floor. He'd never been in a situation such as this, so weak- however he knew that he deserved every single second of it.

And that belief only solidified all the more the moment that a bright screen was shoved in his face, the deer's eyes having to adjust to it a moment before the image settled in. Of course Valentino would have broadcast his regained custody of Angel Dust already.  
And the spider's face... the face that Alastor had become so fond of over the past months... he couldn't bare it.

Molly kept the screen to the Radio Demon's face, Angel's only few lines said during the interview cutting through.  
"I look forward to makin' everyone happy again... I'm sorry for leavin' you all hangin' for so long. I promise it won't happen again... I'll be a good boy for ya."  
Angel then winked at the camera, keeping his forced smile despite clearly suffering a heavy flow of emotions and thoughts.  
His words were so empty and forced. There was no life, something that Alastor wasn't used to seeing in the arachnid, even during his painful withdraw.

Broken static still surrounded the air around him as Molly continued on, a throbbing in the deer's head just getting louder and louder to the point where he had to at least tell Molly _something_. Even if she didn't believe it, she would have heard it, and Alastor would be at peace knowing that he'd tried to explain as much as he could. He was at a weak and pathetic loss.

"Twenty days..."  
Alastor almost whispered, eyes embarrassingly glossing over for not the first time today.  
"Just twenty days and I will do _something._ I cannot say what- but I'm not sitting here letting your brother be tied down by that foul demon for long... I implore you to trust me on this."

The Radio Demon had done this. The monster that was truly unforgiving in every single way, even in the matters of the heart now, had done this. It made him beyond angry, yet that anger did not show.

Twenty days.

Molly then removed the phone and tucked it away again.  
"Just empty _fuckin'_ words to me, I'm afraid..."  
She stated coldly before landing a hard punch directly to Alastor's nose and another to his cheek without an ounce of hesitation, a visible crunch being heard with the slam to his nose.

Those scarlet piercing eyes stayed open as he was hit, face whipping to the side. Alastor still made no move to fight back or avoid this- he _would not._ His face was in pain, sure, but it was nothing in comparison to what his tiny, shrunken heart felt. That was on a whole other scale.

"I wouldn't even bother at this point. Ya fucked up, Radio Demon."  
Molly then let go of the deer and made her way back to the front door. She opened it and paused, looking back at him.

"They say to follow your heart... but if your heart's broken to the point it's just dust blowin' away in the wind, there ain't much left to follow."  
With that, Molly left the house, the ground shaking slam of a door soon following, static and Molly's words echoing in the deafening silence that was to come. The tense silence that was to hang in the air for another twenty days...


	2. Lurking Shadows

With Angel being so fragile with fresh mental and emotional wounds, he had to take a moment or two to appreciate Valentino being so unusually understanding and tolerant.   
Maybe what he'd said in the dressing room was genuine. Maybe things this time around _would_ be better.

As they made it back to the studio, Angel stayed close to the overlord, Valentino being the only demon in Hell he could really trust in protecting him; but only because of how hurt and vulnerable he was in this time period.

He'd gone through a lot in the last twelve hours and suffered a loss that would permanently scar him- and it was going to be worse than the loss of his first love.

Valentino was ecstatic. The interview had gone unimaginably well, and the media was already going wild, fans awaiting the much longed for return of his star, Angel Dust.

The spider had indeed been well behaved during said interview, and while it may have been a completely faux smile that was plastered onto his face the entire time, that didn't matter. The contentment of the fans and the flourish of his business was where the roach's true best intentions lay.

And now Valentino simply had to nurture the broken spider back to his old self again. By any means he had to.

They had just arrived back outside of the studio, limousine taking them to the doors.   
"Now Angie, I'm afraid your condo won't be accessible for, let's say two weeks or so. Until then you'll be staying with me in the studios, hm?"   
Valentino started, pushing his glasses up his face as he exited the vehicle, watching Angel follow him out.

The arachnid gave a slow nod, staying as close to the overlord as he could get without pushing the usual boundaries that he'd learned from his past experiences.

"Yes, Vee..."  
He agreed softly, keeping his eyes on the ground as they made their way into the building.   
It hadn't changed much from what Angel was able to tell, only taking a quick look around at their surroundings before his eyes landed back on the floor.  
He never wanted to return to this place for any reason; maybe there was _one_ exception, and to be back under these circumstances made his heart sink to his ass. This was the last place he thought he'd ever return to and the last place he wanted to be.

Wrapping both sets of arms around his torso, Angel hugged himself for comfort. The place he really wanted to be was back in Alastor's arms. He was only hoping to everything unholy that this was all just a bad dream and he'd wake up in bed with Alastor beside him- but somehow he knew that wasn't going to happen.

Never again.

Valentino grinned at the response, his head held high as he paraded through the front area of the studios, calling for the elevator which soon came.   
Letting Angel walk in first, Valentino was close behind, pressing the button for the penthouse level where he resided.

"I have some shoots lined up for you very very soon Angel Cakes, so I'm hoping that we can get some progress in getting you back to your old self again."   
He stated, ignoring the way that the spider held himself, knowing that he was still upset.   
"Oh there's no need to be upset. As I said before, this is your purpose, Angie. You're better off here."   
And with that, the elevator dinged, the doors sliding open to reveal the most over luxurious and well endowed level of the entire studios. A place that Angel had stayed at many a time and most likely knew all too well.

Angel kept his eyes down, too tired to object or retaliate.   
He followed his boss out of the elevator but stopped just outside of the doors.   
He wasn't sure if he was allowed to act as he did before and help himself to a seat, so he resorted to how he was when he first arrived back in 1947, only doing as he was instructed to.

This was basically Angel Dust being forced into factory settings. He wasn't able to bring himself to let things go back to how things were before. As far as he was concerned, this was the first time for all of this. Those seventy plus years of experience in the industry had been tossed out the window.

"Come along now Angel. Sit down."   
Valentino instructed, looking over his shoulder at his star who seemed to just be standing there at a loss.   
"Angel Cakes, hows about you start taking those special pills again, hm?~ It will make you feel better... I promise~"

Before Angel had the time to sit down, Valentino walked up to him, placing a hand to his lower back again, another hand lifting his chin slightly, red eyes narrowing and golden toothed grin widening.   
"Be a good boy and listen, yes? You said you would in that interview."

Angel's chin lifted but his eyes stayed lowered, not looking Valentino in the eyes. He really didn't want to go back on those pills, but... what did he have to lose? There was no reason he shouldn't. But at the same time, he suffered through the withdrawal and made it out alive.

"I will be a good boy, Vee... I just... don't think I'm ready for that yet..."  
He replied, quiet voice a little shaken.   
He hated those pills and wanted to stay away from them for as long as he could.

Valentino's eyes narrowed a little more, pausing momentarily as he thought. Presently, he wanted Angel to feel as welcome as possible and to not deem him as the 'bad guy'. Gaining the spider's trust after such a long string of negative events between them recently was what Valentino strived for, therefore perhaps he would be lenient for a couple of days. After all, he had now nineteen days to get Angel back to normal before the fans started to demand their content once again.

"Fine."   
Pulling himself back from Angel, Valentino raised his own chin, looking down at the other.   
"However I expect you to be back on them again within the next few days... I just want whats best for my little star~"

Angel closed his eyes and gave a bit of a nod.   
"Yes, Vee... and thank you."  
He simply replied, lowering his chin again.

He had a few days at best to keep his 'freedom' and that was going to have to be enough time for him to enjoy not being a horny slave twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

He did suppose that getting back on them was going to be in his best interest though. Angel really didn't want to get on Valentino's bad side by causing more issues than he already had.   
The spider knew what Valentino was like when he was challenged by lesser beings and he didn't want it to get to that point.   
Then again, Angel was only really cooperating because of how tired he was. If he got enough rest, there was no guarantee that he'd stay docile.

"Sit down Angel. You need your rest with everything I have planned for you."   
Valentino chimed in, glancing over his shoulder at the chair where Angel had been told to sit.

Angel did as he was told and sat where he was told to sit, having gained the bit of confidence to look around at his surroundings a little.   
Things had changed a little since the last time he was there, but not by much.

Leaving the room to where Angel couldn't see him, Valentino poured two glasses of wine out. However, just before taking one back to his star, the roach brought a hand into his pocket, pulling out a small plastic container of pink and white pills. Opening the container, Valentino nonchalantly slipped two of the pills into the drink, knowing they'd dissolve rather quickly. While yes, he wanted Angel to trust him, he couldn't wait forever. The sooner the arachnid got back on these pills, the better.

"Now Angie, I have to discuss the up coming shoot with you. I also have quite a few clients who have paid a lot of money already to see you."   
The overlord called out as he slowly waltzed back into the room, passing the drugged glass of wine over to Angel as he sat down in his own chair, one leg crossing over the other.

Hearing Valentino approach, Angel's gaze shifted over to the overlord, though making sure not to make direct contact for more than a split millisecond.

A typical thing for Valentino to do. Step ahead of what he already had and expect to be followed.

The arachnid didn't speak, simply giving a nod to signal that he was listening as he accepted the glass that was passed to him.

Taking a sip of his drink, Valentino sighed a moment.   
"This upcoming shoot is going to be very important, Angel Cakes. The whole of the Pentagram is awaiting your return. Everyone from demons like myself, down to the most insignificant little horny demons at the bottom."

Watching the wine glass in Angel's hand, Valentino quietly waited for a response. He had to admit, while a bit of silence from the spider was nice, he did miss the fiery personality he had previously possessed before being so rudely taken away from him.

The spider just looked into the glass of deep red for a few moments. The color.... he found himself seeming to hate it.

"How much physical effort is it gunna take?"  
He finally asked, trying to weigh the situation properly while unable to take his eyes away from the red in the glass.   
It reminded him too much of certain events that took place with a certain demon.   
Oh, how Angel wished he could just simply forget it all. But, unfortunately, all of those memories had been permanently engraved into his mind. They were a huge part of who he was now and getting rid of them would be insanely difficult.

Placing his own glass down to the side a moment, Valentino's eyes narrowed a little, seeing the spider staring into his glass, but not drinking.   
"I can't say for sure I'm afraid, but I know you can do it. With the correct... _guidance_ from myself over the next two weeks, you will have no problem getting back into the swing of things~"

However, if Angel continued to not follow through with cheering up and getting over past events, then Valentino would have to take matters into his own hands in the least conventional way.

The arachnid slowly set the glass down on the golden coffee table just in front of him.   
He appreciated it, he just didn't feel like he could handle eating or drinking anything with the sick feeling in his stomach.

"If it's just simple little things like teaser poses, I think I'll be able to manage that right away."  
He explained.  
"I guess we could start there and work our way up?"

Angel knew that they needed to start somewhere and he thought that he might as well start with the easy things first. Maybe the distraction would be good for him- and there was something that came to mind that he might want to try too, just to see if it would help him stay motivated. But he became more aware of how stupid his idea was in the first place- but he was willing to try anything at this point.  
If it helped, he'd keep it up. If not, he'd stop.

As Angel placed his drink down, Valentino's eyes narrowed all the more. It seemed that he would either wait, or have to think of another way to get the spider to ingest the pills.   
"Yes, I suppose that will have to do."

Reaching back into his coat pocket, Valentino pulled out his phone and began scrolling through, one of his other hands patting his lap.   
"C'mon Angie, let's not be strangers, hm? You seem so tense~"   
The overlord purred.   
"Come closer, we'll discuss the upcoming plans here. I have the promotional material all here to show you."   
He grinned, motioning to his phone.

Angel did as he was told and stood from his seat, moving closer and sat in the overlord's lap as he was told to.

He was, indeed, very tense. Despite having been here before, it was all almost new and foreign to him.   
He was going to have to learn the boundaries all over again and he wasn't going to do anything unless he was told or invited to.   
This was going to be quite the process for everyone involved.

Valentino casually brought an arm around the top of the chair, just about his shoulders.   
"Now, here is everything that has been done so far. All we need is for you to do the upcoming shoot."   
Valentino explained, swiping through all the material that had been made. There were some of the other stars in some of the pictures, however they weren't as favorable or as big as Angel Dust.

The spider looked at the device, taking as many notes as he could about what he was required to do and how he'd pull it all off.   
However, a bit of movement from the corner of the spider's eye caught his attention.

From the corner of the room, as silent as one could imagine, a pair narrowed blue eyes watched on, taking in every single word and interaction that was happening between Angel Dust and his renewed pimp, Valentino.   
A shadow followed their every movement, basking in the darkened areas of the room to go unseen, it's form resembling that of the Radio Demon watching on just as its caster had asked.

The night that Angel Dust had first returned here after Valentino had made the deal with the Radio Demon, the shadow used the spider's own shadow to arrive here, manifesting into its usual shape upon reaching the porn studios. And from there? It had been silently keeping watch. 

It seemed that just as the shadow moved to get in a little closer, the arachnid looked its way in that second with widened eyes, the shadow immediately reacting by disappearing.

Before Angel had the chance to process and confirm what he saw, it was gone without a trace, leaving him wondering if he'd even seen anything in the first place.

There wasn't even a slight chance that Alastor could've been there anyways. His mind was clearly so caught and focused on his recent loss that it must have been consuming his imagination too.   
It was like James all over again...

Looking back at the phone, Angel sighed and pulled himself back to the task at hand.  
"We could maybe start tonight. I'm gunna need to rest up a bit first..."  
He stated as he picked up the wine glass, not doing anything with it yet though.

He still wasn't sure if he should run the risk of being sick. But Valentino did pour it for him and he wasn't the kind to waste a drink that was given to him.

Valentino looked across to Angel, noticing his apparent exhaustion. Yes, he didn't want to tire his star out already.   
"Then, you should get some rest. I need to attend to some other shoots currently happening within the building, so I will be back. Don't go anywhere Angie~"   
He chuckled, popping his hell phone away and standing after moving the spider off of his lap carefully.

Angel gave a nod and looked up at the overlord for a moment.  
"I ain't got anywhere else to go. Don't worry..."  
He stated, trying to keep himself from sounding overly sad about it.  
He forced a smile and looked back to where he saw the silhouette as Valentino left, a knot forming in his stomach from the mere idea of the Radio Demon being there.

Either way, he said he'd rest. He looked at the glass again, sighing.   
The arachnid hoped Valentino wouldn't be too upset with him if he didn't end up finishing it. Only a sip to see how his stomach would handle it wouldn't hurt... right?

Valentino, as he made his way over to the elevator, looked back at Angel over his shoulder, gaze once again trailing over to the wine glass before he left, descending down in the elevator to continue on with running his business.

The arachnid raised the glass to his lips and took the smallest possible sip of the wine before setting it down again, curling up on the sofa to rest.   
Angel knew none of this was going to be easy.

Closing his eyes, he tried to relax and stop thinking so much.   
Bringing one of his hands up, he started petting his own head and running his fingers through his hair like Alastor would have done during his withdrawal. His eyes began to water and his breathing became uneven as he fought the tears back.

The shadow hid itself out of sight, still in the penthouse apartment of the roach overlord. After noticing Valentino take his leave, the shadow slowly slunk towards the large pink tinted windows overlooking the entirety of the city, turning its attention towards the figure that lay upon the couch, curling up.

Alastor's shadow may not have been Alastor himself, however, it was still a piece of the deer demon.   
It had witnessed the Radio Demon's relationship with the spider grow over the months and it too felt, at times, what Alastor felt for Angel. And saying that, the shadow, as it went to leave and report back to its owner, had to pause.

Eyes narrowing, the shadow silently crept over to the couch where Angel held himself, his own hands carding through his hair as a comfort. As said before, this may not have been Alastor and Angel may have been mad at the deer even still, but the shadow would not allow the spider to crumble like this.   
Not when it knew that Alastor wouldn't allow it either.

A dark and opaque clawed hand reached slowly out for the spider, fingers very gently beginning to run through the tufts of white fur just as it knew Alastor would. Identically as Alastor would.

The arachnid tensed slightly at the sudden touch, but only thinking it was part of his imagination or something he was recalling from memory. He didn't bother fighting it, instead relaxing and leaning into the touch.

He was able to let the tears fall as his breathing became calm and stable.   
His imagination was usually out to get him, but right now it seemed to be working in his favor.

The relaxation that took over his body was so intense that he started to feel himself drift to sleep. A very welcome experience.   
Angel now hoping that when he woke up, he'd be back in bed with Alastor asleep next to him. Hoping that all of this was just some horrible nightmare.

The shadow stayed a little while after Angel fell asleep, taking a few moments to look around Valentino's penthouse and placed an object for Angel to find later before calling it a day, disappearing. Although it couldn't verbally report back to Alastor, that didn't mean he couldn't show him what had gone down through actions. The Radio Demon would want to know anyways, and anything that Alastor commanded, his shadow would do.


	3. Pills of the Past

Shortly after Molly had left him, the Radio Demon teleported up to the bathroom to tend to his quickly bruising cheek and unfortunately bleeding nose. The female spider really could punch, that was safe to say.

For the next few hours or so, Alastor slept, feeling down for obvious reasons, not bearing to pick up that mornings news paper or even listen to the radio- already knowing what every headline down in Hell was currently.

It must have been four, maybe less hours after falling asleep that a hand to the deer's shoulder suddenly woke him, a familiar figure looming over him, it's grin mirroring that of the deer's.  
"I've see you've returned."   
Alastor began, sitting up in his armchair, his nose still throbbing with a dull pain.

The shadow gave a single nod before shifting back a bit.   
It waited a moment or two to let Alastor wake up properly before changing its form to be that of Valentino, eyes and mouth turning a reddish pink colour.

It started re-enacting the events that it had witnessed before coming to the end of its encounter came the parts that it was certain Alastor would be most interested in.

The shadow resembling Valentino looked to have a glass of wine in one hand and raised its other hand, pinching a small circular once the between its index finger and thumb. It then dropped the little circle into the glass before making another shadow that looked like the arachnid he'd been sent to watch over, eyes and mouth of a vibrant pink. The shadow of Valentino then handed the glass to Angel's shadow, him seeming to take a small sip before laying down.

The shadow then returned to its original form that matched its caster, the blue of its eyes and mouth returning as well.

Alastor took a moment to rub at his tired eyes, his face still far from smiling as he watched his shadow begin to act out the events that he had supposedly witnessed. This would be interesting indeed.

The deer sat back in his armchair, face deep in thought as he watched the re-enactment, the figures clearly Valentino and then... Angel.   
Once the shadow had supposedly finished, Alastor slowly nodded.   
"So he's either drugging Angel, or, if my guess is correct, trying to put him back on those repulsive pills. Hm."   
Alastor thought that hardly conventional, however if that was what Valentino wanted of his star, well, there wasn't much that Alastor could do presently. He was like a king stuck in check. 

"I appreciate your insight. You may rest for now." 

The shadow bowed before taking its rightful place as Alastor's original shadow once again.

Over the next few days; the more Angel rested, the more he _hated_ being back where he was.   
Valentino was insistent and pushing the pills on him again, which he supposed he understood why. He couldn't get it up for anything- which, now he was only noticing that since getting off of the pills in the first place, he hadn't had so much as a hint of an erection.

This being a problem, they had to stick with the teasers for the time being.  
Angel wasn't going to get back on those horrid fucking things for as long as he could hold off without Valentino literally shoving them down his throat.

His strategy didn't work; the idea of imagining Alastor there to help motivate the spider. Of course under no circumstances would Alastor support him in a foul career like this. Especially if Valentino was involved.

However, he was beginning to think that maybe he should rebel against what Alastor thought. He betrayed him after all, and for the chance of the Radio Demon seeing the arachnid's lewd posters and billboards on the streets, it would be a way of telling him that Angel hated him now and didn't care what he thought.  
But... Angel couldn't lie to himself like that... he still loved Alastor more than anything and still hoped he'd come back for him... even though he was still pissed that the deer.

It was safe to say that Valentino was growing... impatient. While his star had at least been there for the earlier shoot, something was just not right. Angel didn't have his usual spark and in Valentino's opinion, that was not good enough. He knew that the pills would have to soon be ingested by the spider, and if Angel refused any more? Then the roach would unfortunately have to use more 'forceful' methods.

"Oh Angie darling!"   
Valentino called out in that usual charming manner he possessed. He had the small bottle of pills in hand, and this time would insist that Angel begin taking them again.   
"You have another shoot later, one that requires a little more... _oomph_ shall we say. You will need to be at your absolute best!"

Angel was in the bathroom, splashing water on his face to hide the fact that he'd been crying... _again_. He didn't want to be punished for it.

As the spider heard the call, he splashed a bit more cold water on his face and straightened up, shutting the water off again before dabbing his face dry with a towel.

He took a breath as he turned to the door and opened it, seeing Valentino leaning against the wall just outside with that stupid grin of his.  
Angel had to bite his tongue to keep himself from saying something because anything he had to say right then would have landed him in serious trouble. So, silence it would be.

Valentino had one set of his arms crossed over his chest, and one of his other hands held the bottle of pills up to Angel's face with his thumb and index finger, waving it back and forth slowly.   
"Angel Cakes, I insist you take one before the shoot today- you'll be needing it. I can't have my star looking all sorry for himself now, can I?"

Taking a small step forwards, the overlord began to unscrew the cap of the pills.   
"Now, you'll take these like a good boy for me, hm?~ Wouldn't want to have to get _violent_ now... would we?"

Angel watched the bottle closely before turning his head away with a bit of a shake.   
"I ain't ready for those yet."  
The arachnid stated before lightly pushing past the roach and moved towards the kitchen.  
"There are other ways of gettin' me goin'. You of all people should remember that if I really was everythin' to ya."

Angel had gotten a little more comfortable over the last few days, gaining a little bit of his sass back and the confidence to actually feed himself. He'd only sleep when Valentino wasn't around though, not daring to run the risk of the sleaze lord doing anything.

Valentino slowly turned around, his red eyes narrowing as an eyebrow raised upon watching the arachnid boldly decline the pills once again.   
"Now now Angie. You know you're my everything, you're my favorite star! You always have been."   
He began, voice a little lower as the roach began stalking towards the spider.   
"I don't doubt my ability to get you goin' Angie. I think you're just gettin' a little too bold now... and I can't have that~"

He towered over Angel, obviously, and that alone gave him the condescending advantage as he walked forwards, pushing Angel to stumble back against the kitchen counters.   
"I don't care whether you're ready or not, you're doin' this for the fuckin' fans. Now, I want you to do as you're fucking told and take the damn pills!"   
His voice had raised considerably, the hand that had been holding the bottle of pills suddenly slamming down upon the counter right beside the smaller demon.

As the spider's back landed against the counter, he winced. Once again cornered like he was at Mazie's all that time ago. Unfortunately he knew there was nothing for him to grab in self defense, and even if there was, Angel's contract was strict and didn't allow him to bring harm to his pimp.

Gulping, he looked up at the towering demon, his body seeming to shake in mild fright despite his best efforts to keep himself strong.  
The spider hesitantly took the bottle from Valentino's hand and opened it, just looking inside at the pink and white circles that filled it.

As Angel took the bottle, Valentino paced a few steps back, pushing up his glasses a little, gaze not leaving his property.   
He would wait until the spider took one.

"Angel Cakes, _darling_ , it's not all that bad."   
He slowly let out, changing his tone to that sickly caring one that was clearly fake.   
"If you're upset, don't be blamin' me _or_ yourself. Alastor is the one you should be blaming after all."   
Pausing, that grin quickly grew.   
"If it hadn't of been for him, you wouldn't have been taken away from me in the first place and none of this would have ever had to happen... you know that, yes?~"

Angel's hands shook a bit as he tipped the bottle and let a single pill fall into his palm. The mere mention of the Radio Demon caused tears to prick his eyes yet again.  
With a sneer, the spider looked up at the overlord again.

"Don't talk about him. Ever. I'm tryna forget but the more ya talk about 'im, the harder it is."  
He stated with glossy eyes, body starting to shake all the more with how hard he was fighting the tears and the urge to throw the pills, strike and run.  
"Do ya have somethin' to help me forget?"

Valentino had to admit, he was a little taken back by the suddenness of Angel's words regarding the Radio Demon, and oh did it make the roach smirk like the shit lord that he was. He couldn't get mad over that- _finally_ , Angel seemed to be showing the overlord a hint of his previous personality before all of this happened.

"Hm, no I don't think I do."   
Again, that was a lie paired with a knowing smirk. Because of course Valentino had something that would make you forget certain specific events, however he would not let Angel have that. Seeing his anger fester towards the Radio Demon every time he was mentioned was all too hilarious in Valentino's opinion.   
"I hope you haven't forgotten about those pills Angie~ they're waitin' for you...."

Angel looked back down at the pill in his palm, shoulders relaxing a bit for a moment.  
"Get me some line. I need the boost..."  
He sighed before hesitantly popping the pill into his mouth, swallowing it dry. He was going to start feeling the effects within the hour and hopefully Valentino would get off of his ass.

The cocaine, however, would get some dopamine into his system and make him seem happier- give him a boost of energy that he really needed. That seemed like a beneficial trade off for him to start taking the pills again.

Valentino heard Angel's request, however waited until the spider had visibly taken and swallowed the pill before he even responded.   
"There's my good boy~"   
The roach grinned, once again taking a few steps closer to grab the pill bottle, doing up the lid and placing them safely back away in his pocket again. Indeed, it wouldn't be long at all before Angel felt the effects take hold- just in time for his later shoot.

Turning on his heels, Valentino wasted no time in making his way into his own luxurious room, snapping his fingers as a very elegant and jewel encrusted cabinet swung open, the overlord taking out a small bag of fine white powder. Upon returning to Angel, he tossed it over.   
"Enjoy~ I'll see you for the shoot later, Angie~"

Angel kept his eyes on the floor, looking up just in time to loosely catch the bag and looked down at it.  
"Yeah..."  
He barely whispered as he moved over to the lounge area, sitting himself down and popped the bag open; starting to get the line ready. He still had the hope in the back of his mind that Alastor would come for him, but it was quickly deteriorating. That hope was dissolving faster and faster every minute.

That was until something in the corner of the room caught his eye again, but he needed to wait until he was alone again before he was able to make sure it was real.

Valentino soon after left back down in the elevator, leaving Angel alone in the penthouse suite... well, _almost_ alone.

The Radio Demon's shadow still lurked about, just as Alastor had asked it to do as often as it could, taking in the information. And the scene that had just happened before him, the spider taking the pill, was very interesting indeed.   
No matter what the shadow did, it seemed that so far Angel had yet to notice him, which it supposed was a good thing. It meant that the shadow could be a little more careless in where it went and how it hid- just as it was doing now, snooping around the overlord's suite.

Angel waited a moment or two, looking at the elevator just down the hall to make sure Valentino had actually gone.   
When he knew he was gone, Angel stood up and quickly walked over to there he saw the bit of movement, completely disregarding the drugs for the time being.

Angel huffed a bit, figuring this was just another attempt of his imagination to deceive him. However, as he was about to turn away, an object caught his eye that immediately triggered the tears. A radio...

Angel picked it up and huffed, trying to stay angry but wasn't able to. The anger was quickly replaced with sadness and betrayal. All of that healing- even though it was the smallest amount, that invisible wound opened again. The tiny bit of scabbing that had managed to form had just been ripped off with way more aggression and force than was necessary.

With a sniffle, Angel lowered himself to the floor as he brought the device to his chest.  
"Al... why'd you do this to me? You said you loved me... you made a promise..."  
His voice was quiet as he curled in on himself, hugging the radio close to his body.  
A bit of realization came over him and the anger came back. Not towards Alastor, but towards himself.

"This is my own fault. I should've known you weren't any different from the rest of this shit hole... promises didn't mean shit to ya in the past so why did I think they meant anything what it came to me? Because I'm fuckin' stupid. That's why."  
The spider answered his own question, but then sadness took over once again, a pure form of self loathing laced in with the sadness.

The radio, having been placed by the shadow, was on- very quiet static emitting from it as Angel picked it up and spoke his broken words of sorrow. And of course... Alastor could hear every syllable.

Whether Valentino would take notice of the radios in due time was most probable, however Alastor had instructed his shadow to place one down when he was sure the roach had gone for the time being.

It had been almost five days since Alastor had heard Angel's voice... and it still hurt to hear it even now. Alastor was a mess too, not having known what to do with himself the past few days.

Very slowly leaning forwards in his armchair, microphone raised to his lips as he listened to Angel, Alastor decided to speak. A dangerous move, he knew, but he couldn't help himself.   
"...Smile my dear..."   
He quietly let out, hearing the clear unhappiness in Angel's tone.

Angel let out a few small whimpers as he heard the voice come through, taking a moment to process the words.  
With a few shaky breaths, the spider spoke, shaking his head.  
"...There ain't a reason to smile anymore..."  
His voice soft and full of hurt. He could barely make it through that little sentence before breaking down, tears leaving his eyes to the point he couldn't see.

"You sold me back... I'm back on those fuckin' pills... I-I dunno what to do anymore. I dunno what or who to believe..."  
Angel sobbed, pulling the radio away from himself to look at it as rage started to build up again.

At every true accusation that was thrown his way, Alastor flinched a little, knowing deep down that these were truly hurting more than what was showing on the outside.   
"Angel I-" 

"I don't wanna see you again. I don't wanna see another _fuckin'_ radio. I don't wanna hear your _fuckin'_ voice again. I want _nothin'_ to do with you!"  
With that, Angel raised the device over his head and smashed it repeatedly on the floor, tears rolling and frustrated growls leaving him.

The rest of his voice was lost, only for himself to hear as the transmission cut off with a pang of static, the spider having broken their communication feed.

It took the spider a few moments to come down from his outburst, taking in what he'd just said and done.   
"Wait-"  
He started picking up the loose and broken pieces; frantically starting to try to put it back together.  
"Wait- wait! I didn't mean it! Please! Al please come get me! I'm sorry, please! Whatever I did I'm fuckin' sorry!"  
He cried and pleaded to the broken radio.  
"Please..."

If it hadn't of been for Alastor's future plans, then yes- he would have listened to Angel right then and there.   
He sounded broken enough to truly never want to see, hear from or have anything to do with Alastor again, and that once again hurt.   
However, he only had himself to blame. What a sorry state the Radio Demon was currently in, moping around in the solitude of his house, sending out shadows to spy for him.   
However, he told himself this wouldn't be for nothing... 

Fifteen more days.


	4. Home Troubles

Henroin and Arackniss sat in the dining room, having a drink while planning a few things. It was during a moment of silence that they heard some disturbance from upstairs.  
Arackniss reacted by just rolling his eyes as he took a sip from his glass.

"Don't test me, boy."  
Henroin snarled.

"What the fuck're you gettin' on _my_ ass for?!"  
The small, scrawny and dark spider exclaimed in exasperation.

"Your sister's up there for days, distraught as hell and all ya do is sit there and roll your eyes! The _fuck_ is wrong with ya?!"  
The father stood from his seat and reached over the table, slapping the other upside the head, causing a disgruntled groan from Arackniss.  
Henroin then left the dining area and marched up the stairs and to his daughter's room. Giving a soft knock before opening the door, he poked his head inside of the room.  
"Molly, la mia amica del cuore, you've been up here for almost a week. It's not healthy. Talk to your papà."

Ever since returning from Alastor's house in a fit of over boiling anger, Molly hadn't left the comforts of her room. The anger that she'd immediately felt upon seeing the interview in regards to her brother quickly fizzled out, that emotion soon forming into a much more sorrowful one shortly after her return home.

She'd messaged her brother time and time again ever since the incident, despite knowing how pointless it was, just in the hopes that she'd get a reply.   
However that reply never came. For the next five days Molly was locked in her room, Fat Nuggets being her only consolation as she cried her heart out ten, fifty, or maybe even a hundred times over.

The others in the house had left her alone at first, however when she heard a knock at the door, Molly was in no mood to explain. Whatever she had to say, if it related to her brother? No one in that house would want to hear it.

"Vai via papà- I already said it's not worth talkin' about!"   
She sniffed from under the covers of her bed, Fat Nuggets cradled in her arms.

Henroin let out a gruff breath. He hated seeing his favorite child so upset.  
"Per favore, Molly. Odio vederti così triste."  
He sighed as Arackniss came up shortly after his father to at least show he supported his family.

Henroin entered the room and sat on the edge of her bed, placing a hand on her shoulder while another carefully ran through her hair.  
"Maybe I can help. I want you to be happy, neonata."

Arackniss kept his distance, leaning against the door frame with all six arms crossed over his torso.

Molly, as she felt the weight on the bed beside her as well as a hand to her shoulder, slowly managed to sit up, pulling the blanket away from over her face and Fat Nuggets.   
Her eyes were bloodshot from having been crying, and her mass of hair was quite the mess.

"This is Hell, papà- demons aren't happy. Especially those selfish enough to not be happy even when they have _everything_ they could have ever wanted right there and decide to just _throw_ it away!"   
She wouldn't say who this situation involved because as much as she wanted to believe that her father and brother loved Anthony, deep down she really did know they didn't. Of course they didn't- even the mere mention of the estranged son and not a hint of fondness nor familial love crossed their faces for even a second.

Henroin hated seeing his daughter like this. He didn't think it was this bad. He wasn't the best at looking on the bright side of things, but he was going to at least try for his favorite child.

"Ya gotta understand that a lotta demons like wallowin' in self pity. They don't like bein' happy so they keep 'emselves miserable by throwin' it all away."  
Of course that was directed towards himself too, notorious for discarding things that could potentially make him happy. There were his own stupid reasons for it.

"I'll do _anything_ to make you happy, even down here, mia cara figlia. Tell me what you want and I'll get it for you."

Molly slowly shook her head, hugging Fat Nuggets just that bit closer to her chest.   
Molly knew that there were demons down here who hated even the prospect of happiness, however when a demon who was content with it, _supposedly_ , suddenly threw that away in the most awful way? That was what she couldn't understand.

"There's nothin' you can do, papà..."   
Her voice was just above a whisper, eyes closing as she remembered her brother's face in that interview- how damn _soulless_ he looked.   
"You and Frankie won't even give two shits... s'no point."

Henroin then turned to Arackniss, snapping his fingers at him.  
"Vai a prendere qualcosa da mangiare per tua sorella. Starò qui."  
He spoke while making hand gestures.

"Cosa faccio?"  
Arackniss raised a brow and straightened himself up a bit.

"Non mi interessa! Finché è fottutamente commestibile! Aspettare-"  
Henroin turned to Molly again.  
"Is there somethin' specific ya wanna eat? You're wastin' away up here and I ain't gunna have that while I'm still around."

At the sound of her father snapping his fingers, Molly's gaze raised to her other brother who stood in the doorway, looking rather disinterested as per usual as he was ordered to get Molly some food.

When Henroin turned to her, Molly just shrugged, bringing one of her arms up to attempt to run her fingers through her hair.

"Non mi interessa."   
She replied, her voice still quiet.

Fat Nuggets, who had been in her arms, wiggled out briefly, moving to sit beside her instead now that she was sitting up.

Turning back to Arackniss, he started giving a list of things for him to prepare.  
"Non essere inutile e mettiti in marcia! Partire!"

With that, Arackniss walked away and down to the kitchen. He hadn't a clue how to cook or anything of the sort, seeing as Molly was the one to do all of that; but as long as his it kept his Dad from wringing his neck, he was damn well going to try.   
If all else failed, he would order something.

Henroin huffed and opened his arms to Molly, pulling her into a gentle embrace.  
"Everything's gunna be okay. Don't worry."

As her father opened his arms, Molly slowly fell forwards into the embrace, her eyes clenching tightly as she fought back tears, her bottom lip quivering. Now that all the anger had died down, all that was left was sadness. One that wouldn't dissolve, she feared, until something was done.

"Papà... it hurts."   
The spider slowly let out, small droplets of tears managing to escape her tightly closed eyelids.   
"Why are demons so _heartless_..."

Henroin held the girl in his arms, his own eyes closing as he felt the fur on his shoulder become damp.

"Whoever hurt you, I'll personally get rid of. Just gimme the name and I'll take care of 'em. I'll even let you have at 'em if you want."  
He replied, brows furrowing as his thoughts started moving towards the idea that someone had taken advantage of her.

Of course everyone in Hell had seen the news, but Henroin and Arackniss didn't think anything of it, having programmed their minds to think that Angel was just another demon in Hell and nothing more.

Once again shaking her head, Molly managed out a small 'no', slowly pulling away from their embrace and wiping at her eyes with one of her arms.

"But that's the thing... it wasn't _me_ they hurt."   
She sniffed.  
"It's Valentino... he has my brother... he's got Tony again."

And saying it out loud seemed to only make the tears flow even more, Molly's words catching in her tight throat, two other hands catching her head as she buried her face into her palms.

Henroin's brows came together as he shook his head in programmed confusion.  
"You're brother's name is Frank and he's right downstairs. Ain't no one by the name Valentino's got anyone."

At her father's words, Molly's gaze immediately shot up from her palms to the others eyes, her brows fused together in now what was unmistakably anger, her tears still flowing down her cheeks.

"What-"   
She ground out.  
She knew her father would deny his sympathy towards Angel, but to now deny his _existence_ as Molly was crying her heart out on his behalf? She really couldn't believe it.  
"Did you not fuckin' read the news?!!"

Henroin tensed and held his breath, all eight eyes closing again.   
He supposed that was a bit harsh even if it was a pre-programmed response.

The father arachnid inhaled before looking to his daughter again.  
"You're right, mi dispiace... fanculo..."

Bringing a set of hands up to his face, he stated rubbing his eyes and cheeks.   
He really did hate that kid that was unfortunately born to him, but his hatred wasn't going to help Molly through this and he knew that.

"Anthony is... still _alive_... so there ain't much of a loss. What can we, as a _family,_ do to help you?"

It was at this time that Henroin realized how useless of a father he really was when it came to comforting someone- especially his own flesh and blood.

Molly continued to shake her head, quickly scooping Fat Nuggets up into her arms again.   
"Unless you've got it within yourself to forgive him for whatever the fuck he ever did to you? Then no. Non puoi fare niente."

Slowly pushing herself away from her father, Molly stood from her bed, glancing away from Henroin as she took a small breath, composing herself. With her gaze across her shoulder, she turned away, beginning to move toward her bathroom without another word.

"Mangerò più tardi."   
And with that, she closed the door.

Henroin sighed and glanced towards the pig for a moment before standing, taking that as his cue to go back downstairs.  
Doing just that, he found his way back to the kitchen to see Arackniss trying to figure out how to turn to stove on.

"Don't worry about that right now, boy."

"What's she all upset about?"  
The spindly arachnid asked as he gave up with his efforts.

With a huff, Henroin rubbed his face and leaned against the kitchen island.  
"The whore on the news. The one Valentino's been showin' off again. Really got 'er in a twist."

"Fucks sake. You'd think that after all this time she'd get the fuck over it."

"I swear I'll never understand women no matter how hard I fuckin' try."  
Henroin sighed, pulling his hands away from his face.

Molly, once in the bathroom, didn't waste any time in splashing her face with some cold water. After leaving the bathroom, she quickly threw on a fresh sweater and tied her mass of currently tangled hair up before slowly trudging down the stairs, her demeanor still rather sad. It was the first time in five days that she'd left her room.

However, just before she turned to move into the kitchen she paused, overhearing her brother and father talking. Immediately, her sated anger flared right back up again upon hearing what they were saying, the female spider rounding the corner.

"Fuck you Frankie- Fuck. YOU!!"   
She cried out, storming forwards towards the shorter spider.

Both of the men jolted and their heads snapped towards the female with widened eyes, both not having heard her come down the stairs.

"You never gave a _shit_ 'bout him! Anthony may still be alive, but that don't mean _fuck all_ when he's not livin' the life he deserves down here! He was betrayed by someone he thought he could _trust_ \- and I know you two don't care, but I DO!!"   
Shoving two of her arms right into Arackniss' chest, the spider furiously stormed past him towards the door.

Arackniss stumbled back, being significantly shorter than everyone in the family.   
"Non toccarmi, donna!"  
He growled, having to force himself not to pull his gun on her.

"Frank don't talk to her like that! Molly c-"  
Henroin was interrupted by the door slamming shut.   
With a heavy sigh, he looked to Arackniss again with the most annoyed expression.  
"Bel lavoro, stronzo. Gear up. We should follow her and make sure she's safe. Who knows who's gunna try takin' advantage of 'er fragile woman state."

Arackniss simply growled and left to grab whatever he needed for a possible fight, Henroin following shortly after.

She may have not had any weapons on her, and her phone may have been about to die, but regardless, Molly knew exactly where she was headed. Fueled by rage and the sorrow of her brother's betrayal by the Radio Demon, Molly began to make her way towards the looming building of the porn studios.

Of course, she wasn't thinking straight at all, and from the tears clouding her vision she couldn't really see too well either, but that wasn't going to stop her. She was going to leave those studios either with Angel, or kicking and screaming.

***

Molly made her aggressive appearance at the porn studios like a raging storm, slamming the glass doors of the entrance open and stomping in.   
She didn't bother addressing the demon at the desk, instead heading straight towards the elevator that supposedly went to the other levels. The other levels of the building where the spider presumed Angel was being held.

However, if she expected it to be as easy as simply going up in the elevator and grabbing her brother, then she was foolishly wrong.   
Immediately, there were two of Valentino's underlings on Molly, pulling guns on her. However, Molly wasn't going to back down just yet, she knew how to fight of course, and managed to knock one of them down, taking his gun and pulling the trigger on the other underling before hurling the gun in the direction of the demon on the phone at the desk. 

Valentino was in the midst of getting everything ready and set up for Angel's shoot, making sure that even the folds in the fabric of the curtains were pristine. He didn't have much time left before the action was scheduled to take place.

It was when his phone started buzzing with an important call that he was thrown off.  
Pulling the device out of his pocket, he answered and put it on speaker. Before he could get a word out, there was the sound of a brawl.

"Valentino, sir, we've got a situation! I think A-"  
The call was then cut off.

With a groan, Valentino left the room with a quick and frustrated stride.  
"Useless demons. All of 'em."  
He growled under his breath as he got in the elevator and made his way down to the main floor.

Even before the doors opened, he could hear angered screaming. How.... _interesting_.  
And when the doors opened, he thought that Angel had escaped, but Valentino knew the arachnid didn't have his drag here yet.

There was another underling quickly charging towards her, one she managed to tackle to the ground, beginning to land her fists into the side of his head.

Striding over, heels clicking against the luxurious laminate flooring, he pulled the spider off of one of his underlings and pinned her against the wall knocking the breath right out of the spider.

"Darling, you're making a messy scene in my building~"  
The sleaze lord purred with narrowed eyes.

"Valentino-"   
She snarled as best she could, all four of her arms gripping the looming demon's wrists, desperately trying to get away.   
"Get the _fuck_ offa me-"

"Feisty, feisty little spider~"  
Valentino chuckled in reply, leaning in close to her face.   
"I bet I can take a wild little guess as to what's brought you here, Miss Molly~"  
The sleaze lord grinned, eyes narrowing all the more as he kept her firm against the wall.

"Unfortunately,"  
He began with a tut.  
"Your brother isn't going anywhere. Though if you're so insistent on seeing him, you're more than welcome to form an itty bitty tiny contract with me and you'll be able to see him as often as you'd like~"  
Valentino's grin widened, head tilting to the side a bit.

Of course this was all a bluff. He wasn't looking for anymore employees, but if she really wanted to, he wouldn't mind.   
It might even work to his benefit to have the twin of his most popular star working for him.   
Oh, the sleazy and disgusting ideas he was getting just from the thought.

Figuring that struggling was pointless given how much of an advantage Valentino had over her, Molly instead kept her feet firmly planted on the ground, turning her head away from Valentino's gaze, her brows furrowed closely together, teeth clenching at his words.

She supposed it was only natural for Valentino to know who she was. Not only was the strong resemblance there in regards to Angel, but no doubt her brother had at least told the overlord about her over the years.

"I ain't doing shit for you- fuckin' filthy, sleazy asshole!"   
She growled again, clearing her throat and violently spitting up onto the pink glass of Valentino's shades.

The roach growled at her response, his grip on her only tightening all the more.  
"Come now, Doll. You could be great; just like your brother~"  
He gave yet another low chuckle before sighing, seeing that she wasn't about to be swayed.

"I won't push it onto you, but if you're going to refuse then I strongly suggest you get your sweet little heart shaped ass out of my domain and not come back, hm?~"  
He dragged a sharp nail along her jaw.  
"Best take Daddy's advice. We wouldn't want to see you hurt, now would we?~"

Molly's teeth clenched all the more as she felt that sharp nail dragging along her jaw, jolting her head away before anything deeper could be done.   
"You can't even fuckin' see my ass, you dumb fuck."   
She mumbled, instinctively struggling again in Valentino's firm grip.

"You and your brother being almost the same, I think it's safe to say I _have_ seen your ass, sweetie~"  
Valentino almost cackled.

"I'll leave- but you'd better think of this as a warning, Valentino. My brother's escaped before 'n that pompous Radio Demon's fucked you up once already. Now that I'm in the picture too? Guardati le spalle-"   
With her piece said, Molly internally deflated a little, however didn't let Valentino see that. She'd been cornered and it seemed truly impossible, getting to Angel. It made her sad.

On any other given day, he'd hate to see someone avoid eye contact with him. It meant they knew a bit of what he was able to do. But, as it stood, he had more important things to tend to.

"In regards to the Radio Demon, I don't think he'll be around anytime soon. The deal we made was quite interesting~"  
He hinted before letting Molly go, placing a hand just above her rump and started leading her peacefully towards the doors.  
"My offer will always stand, darling. You're welcome to come back and make the contract any time you wish~"

"Disgusting, foul mouthed pervert-"   
She added on through her grinding teeth, taking a step away from Valentino as she was lead out.   
"Don't fuckin' touch me- I can walk on my own."

And yes, as for the Radio Demon, Molly knew all too well. She knew that Alastor had made a deal and that was why Angel was able to be palmed off as he was, but she didn't know what specifically that deal was. Which, now she thought about it, she wanted to know.   
What could have possibly been so tempting for Alastor that he would have happily gone along with Valentino and handed Angel off to him on a golden platter?!

"Get fucked!!"   
With that, she was released out into the streets again, her throat hurting from all the yelling and previous sobbing she'd been doing.

With a low chuckle, Valentino released her out into the world.   
"Just like your brother~"  
He stated more to himself.

Now that Molly was out of his antennae, he had a feeling that Angel was the cause for her sudden arrival. He must have found a way of contacting her. This wouldn't do.

Striding back down the hall and to the elevator with heeled boots clicking against the floor now echoing through the quiet level. Tutting to himself there was now a mess on the floor just outside of the elevator. He couldn't have that.

He stepped into the elevator and pulled out his phone, sending a text to the cleanup staff, alerting them of the urgent mess before heading back up to his penthouse to confront his employee about the issue.  
  
  


Perhaps if she had thought about what she was doing and had been in a right state of mind, she might have actually gotten somewhere. Or maybe not. Whatever the case, having been cast out of the studios only made her that bit more angry. Having met Valentino and witnessed how much of an asshole he was as well, made her increasingly more mad, however the energy to be angry just wasn't there currently.

The spider's adrenaline had quickly fallen after its spike when storming the studios, and now Molly was exhausted, hungry and just an overall mess. She was vulnerable out on Hell's streets like this, with no weapons and her phone about to d-   
...speaking of her phone, she hadn't noticed before with her thoughts elsewhere, but it's usual chiming of a ringtone was quietly playing out, Molly scrambling to answer and almost missing it. An unknown number.

"Hello?"   
She spoke, trying to sound as less of a mess as possible, however, her shaking voice and slightly raspy throat was apparent to anyone.

A familiar voice came through, one that started out a bit happy but turned worried as soon as the demon on the other end had processed her tone and shaken voice.

"Oh, hello Molly! It's Stewart calling. Are... you alright? I hope I'm not calling at a bad time- see, I've been trying to get ahold of you since you left my place just to make sure you were alright. You left in a bit of a frazzled state..."

Molly held the phone out in front of her, putting it on speakerphone as she listened to who was on the other end. 

"Stew?"   
she sniffed out, trying to stay strong but ultimately failing, more tears falling down onto the screen of her phone.   
"I'm sorry I left so soon sugar- no it's not a bad time, I'm sorry I just... I ain't doin' too great right now."

"Where abouts are you? Would you like me to escort you somewhere? I wouldn't mind bringing you back to my place and helping you if that's what you need. My intentions are innocent, I promise. If I don't have something you want I'd be happy to go out and retrieve it for you."  
The rabbit's concern seemed to increase all the more, becoming a bit desperate in helping the spider. He'd taken a liking to her despite having only met her once five days ago.

"Oh, Stew, you really don't have to."   
She began, using one of the sleeves of her sweater to wipe up some of the tears.   
"But if you would, I'd be real grateful... I'm outside the fuckin' porn studios."

She may have not known Stewart for long, but for whatever reason, she trusted him. When she'd been around him five days ago, she felt safe. And while she may not have known very much about him yet, she felt like she wanted to.

"I'm on my way!"  
Stewart's grin could be heard from the other end of the line. It was evident the he was more than happy to do this for her.

And at that, Molly did manage a small smile, nodding to herself as the other hung up, Molly putting her phone away. Without missing a beat, another familiar voice sounded from just behind her.  
"Molly, what were you thinkin' runnin' off like that? Neonata, you're not hurt, are ya?"  
The father spider questioned as he came closer.

At the familiar voice, still a little shaken up, Molly flinched a little, head whipping around, expression softening when she saw her father and brother behind her.  
"No papà, sto bene..."   
She sighed, turning her head away a little, not wanting Henroin to see the small scratch along her jaw.   
"I'm sorry... I just- I thought I could get 'im back... guess I was wrong."

Arackniss was trailing behind, Tommy gun strapped to his back with his lowest set of hands shoved into his pockets, middle and top set folded over his torso; indifferent expression complete with a lit cigarette in his mouth.

"I could've told a that, tesoro. This is why we plan ahead instead of jumpin' right in."  
Henroin replied, wrapping an arm around his daughter in a protective manner.  
"What'd that shit bag do to ya?"  
He asked, noticing she was trying to hide something.

Molly leaned into her father's hold, her expression still rather forlorn.   
"Nothin', just threatened my ass, s'all."   
She explained, eyes narrowing a little as she looked across at her brother.  
While her anger may have died down, that didn't mean she still wasn't upset with Arackniss.

"I got someone pickin' me up... I'm gonna stay with them for a while. Don't worry papà."

Henroin's eyes narrowed towards the building before his gaze shifted towards Molly again.  
"Do I know this man? Is he trust worthy? What's the reason for him to be down here?"  
The elder arachnid wasn't stupid.  
If Molly used 'them' as a pronoun, it was probably a male. If otherwise, she would've used a female pronoun. 'Them' was specifically used when she meant a man. That and those pronouns were only accepted as a group rather than a singular person in his old timer books.

Molly simply rolled her eyes.  
Her father always did this when there was even the mere mention of a male being involved. That was why she tried her hardest to always keep him out of those sorts of things.

"First off, I never even said it was a _guy_ \- and second, yeah, it is a guy. And he's real nice, alright? Don't ruin this for me."

"Excuse me, _missy_ , for makin' sure my daughter is safe. Can't trust anyone down here and you damn well know that."  
Henroin replied, bushy grey brows furrowing.   
"Now, details. Before I let ya go anywhere else, I need to know my neonata is fuckin' safe."

Huffing out an exhausted breath, Molly pulled two of her hands down her face, sighing loudly.   
"I met him at this fuckin' VIP bar like a couple days back, we hung out for a bit and he's real nice. I just know, okay? Trust me with this one."

As far as her father was concerned, Molly was still a naive little girl who was only out looking for trouble.  
Before there was any time to reply, a familiar rabbit came quickly along, his pace seeming to quicken upon seeing that Molly had company.

As he drew nearer, both Henroin and Arackniss turned their attention to him, Arackniss ready to pull the gun off of his back if need be.

"Molly, I came as quick as I could. Everything alright?"  
Stewart asked, smile faltering a bit as he slowed when he saw the brother ready to go.

Molly's attention was immediately turned towards the rabbit demon, glaring daggers towards Arackniss as she saw him move to ready his gun.   
"Frankie- leave him the _fuck_ alone."   
She warned, moving away from her father and striding over to Stewart.

"Hi, yeah Stew. Things are goin' alright. I'll explain more when we get back to yours."   
She began, attention then moving towards Henrion, shooting him a pleading look.

Arackniss's eyes narrowed all the more, looking to his father for approval, which was given. He then reached into his pocket and pulled a new cigarette out and put it between his lips after casting the old one away, lighting his shortly after with a match.

Henroin looked the new demon up and down.  
"Don't you have things at home to pick up first, Molly? I'm sure this 'Stew' ain't got clothes or you pig at his place."  
He was only using this as an excuse to interrogate Stewart, though his excuse was valid. If he didn't approve, she wouldn't be going.

Molly opened her mouth to retaliate against her father, however, quickly realized he was, annoyingly, correct.

"Well, not exactly... guess I'll have to go and pick all that up."   
She mumbled, taking Stewart's arm and beginning to lead him back in the direction of her home.   
"Ya don't have to follow me, papà, I already said I'm fine."   
She called back over her shoulder.

A very faint smirk pulled at the corners of the father's mouth, following along as he gave the nod for Arackniss to follow.

"We're all headin' the same way, so really I ain't followin' nobody."  
He replied, trying to sound casual about it as he came up behind Stewart and clapped him on the back.

"So, Stew, where ya from, what landed your sorry ass down here, how old were ya, how and when'd ya die, and what're your intentions with my precious daughter?"  
He quizzed the rabbit, looking up at him with a bit of a smug expression.

Molly was walking ahead a little, however, as her dad brought Stewart in for a chat, of course going against her wishes and asking him every question known to demon, she couldn't help but listen in.

Stewart simply smiled down at the spider without a hint of hesitation or missing a beat.  
"Ah, I was born and raised in Las Vegas, was a money launderer, shot point blank at the ripe age of twenty nine in 1967, and I assure you, sir, my intentions are pure and innocent. Molly here is a swell young woman and will be treated as a fine lady such as herself should be; with the upmost respect. I do have a spare room that she'll be residing in for the time being and I will not make any harsh moves to lead her astray."

The rabbit had told her some things about himself when they last saw each other, but she was slightly tipsy and the information she processed wasn't a lot that night.

As she listened to what Stewart had to say, she felt her chest tightening, lips pursing together a little as she tried to hold back a smile.

"See Daddy? He means no harm."   
She called softly over to Henroin, slowing her pace a little to walk beside the rabbit now.

Henroin had to admit, he was impressed with how quick this bunny was and how he didn't seem bothered with the questioning. He wouldn't admit that just yet though.

"Hm. Interessante. Molto interessante."  
He replied, finding his need for information to be satisfied... _for now_. He'd have further questions later; when Molly was gathering her things.

The rest of the walk was rather quiet, Stewart waiting to talk more with Molly to see what he could and couldn't talk about with her family, assuming he'd be seeing them again.

Henroin unlocked the door to the house and stepped inside.  
"Molly, you go ahead and grab your things. Stewart is safe here. For now."

Molly nodded at her father's words, looking back at Stewart with a smile before quickly making her way up the stairs, not wanting to keep the rabbit there any longer than he needed to be- sometimes Henroin's interrogations could get nasty if an unsatisfying answer was given.

Once in her room, Molly greeted Nuggets with a tired 'hi', moving to her closet and pulling out a bag that could store some clothes and other items for a couple of days or so.

Arackniss pushed through to the kitchen as Henroin guided the newcomer in as well.

"Ya otta know one thing here, Stewart. I don't necessarily care _who_ ya are, _what_ ya did, or how much power ya got. If ya fuck with my daughter and leave 'er hurt, I promise ya ain't gunna make it t' see the next day."

Arackniss was already sharpening a cleaver with his eyes on the rabbit as the two men walked into the area.  
"Can't say we've had rabbit stew b'fore. Heard it's good though."  
He stated, his expression seemingly bored despite the dark humor he'd just thrown.

Stewart couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head in reply. That definitely wasn't the first time he'd heard that one.

"Oh, no gentlemen! You have my word. Women are treasures that are to be cherished and well looked after. I assure you both that I have no motive to cause Molly any form of harm, nor will anyone else lay a finger on her."  
He stated calmly.  
"She is safe. If she finds herself dissatisfied, she has my full permission to shoot me once again."

Making sure she had everything, Molly was soon scooping up the pig into her lower set of arms, the bag hanging upon her shoulder.   
"Alright Pepite, we're gonna go somewhere new for a bit, 'kay?"

Feeling a little better with Nuggets in her arms and with the knowledge she was going over to Stewart's house, Molly had a fraction of her usual spring in her step back, rounding the corner into the kitchen, rolling her eyes at the sight of all three men talking.   
"Alright Stew, you ready to go?"

The three men turned to Molly, Stewart having a peppy smile on his face while the other two seemed indifferent.

"Why, of course, my lady!"  
The rabbit grinned as he took the bag from off of Molly's shoulder and placed it over his own before greeting the pig in her arms with a small pat to the head. He then offered his arm.

Molly giggled coyly as Stewart took her bag off of her, patting Fat Nuggets.   
"Why, thank you, kind sir."   
She smiled, gladly taking the others arm.

"Molly, I expect you to keep me informed so I know you're safe. If I don't get at least _one_ text in the span of twenty four hours, I'm huntin' ya down and you're comin' right home. Y'hear?"  
Henroin spoke sternly.

She had to admit, it was a little odd her father meeting this man despite Molly having only known him properly for a day, but she wasn't complaining.   
The sooner Henroin took a liking to Stewart, if at all, the better.

"I know, I know papà. Per favore non rovinare questo per me. Sarei molto arrabbiato, okay?"   
Briefly pulling away from her escort, Molly took a few steps towards her father, pressing a quick peck to the side of his head.   
"Bye bye now! I'll message you later."

With a huff, Henroin gave a nod.  
"Good."

Stewart smiled and started leading Molly out of the kitchen and out of the house.  
"You have a lovely family! I admire their protective nature."  
He chuckled lightly as they started walking down the street towards his abode.

Molly laughed slightly at Stewart's words as they left the house and began walking, Fat Nuggets happily laying in Molly's arms.   
"Ah, yeah well. I'm just glad my Daddy didn't bite ya damn head off."

Molly was just glad that he didn't mention her estranged brother in any way, shape or form- that wouldn't have worked in his favor at all.   
"Papà seemed to like you, from what I could see. He didn't kill ya, haha!"

Stewart laughed as well.  
"Ah ha! Yes, your brother on the other hand was quite ready to take a good chunk out of me."  
He then paused.  
"Speaking of which, you've got some explaining to do. But before all of that, is there anything you'd like to pick up while we're out?"

Molly knew she had some explaining to do, and she wanted to tell Stew and inform him on everything that had happened, but she'd wait until they got back to his home- she didn't want to start bawling again in public.

"Um, yeah I need to get another pack'o smokes- unless you got some spare or somethin'. Ran out while held up in my fuckin' room the past few days."

"I've gotcha covered. Is there anything else you'd like? Whether it be food or drink, though I have plenty at home, I'm not sure if you have something specific you want."  
The rabbit replied.

He was worried about her before, but now? Now that worry had sky rocketed. To know she'd been in her room since he last saw her, the news must have been horrible for her to hear.

Molly shook her head, holding the pig a little closer as she followed beside the rabbit.   
"No, I'm okay. Oh, Nugs here does love apples though, so if you happen to have, I'm sure he'd much appreciate that."

Molly had obviously been to Stewart's home before, however hadn't had the time to take in the area of Hell that it was situated in- quite a nice one if she did say so herself.

Stewart gave a small chuckle and a nod.  
"I can provide those, of course."

As they made it to an apartment building, Stewart made sure to hold doors and such for the female spider, leading her up to a rather nice apartment near the very top. It was spotless and quite large.

Molly's eyes widened as they made their way up to Stewart's very nice and spacious apartment building.   
"Woah... musta missed all this, heh. Guess while both enterin' and exitin' this place, I was a bit distracted."   
She snorted a small laugh.

"Now, I'm not entirely sure what you enjoy, but I have books, movies, food and snacks, plenty to drink, and plenty of blankets. If you need me to run out and get anything I'll be more than happy to do so."  
He smiled, leading Molly to the couch.  
"I'll put your things in the spare room."

"Hey, uh Stew, sugar?"   
She eventually called out over her shoulder, placing Nuggets down beside her.   
"Y'know, this is real nice an' all- but you really didn't have to do it. All of this. For me."

Stewart paused in his tracks before setting the bag down and moved back over to where Molly was situated, sitting next to her.

"Molly, I insist. You've had a rough couple of days and it didn't look like your family was of much help to you. This is the least I can do for someone I really enjoy having around."  
The rabbit moved a few loose stands out of the spider's face with a gentle smile before kissing her forehead lightly.

Molly moved up a little to let Stewart sit down beside her, the spider following his eyes as he spoke, a small smile pulling at her lips. As the kiss was placed to her forehead, Molly quickly found her rosy cheeks blushing all the more as she averted her gaze, laughing softly.

"Well... that's real sweet of ya."   
She grinned, turning back to meet his eyes and pressing a kiss of her own against his cheek.

"I'll always be around whenever you need someone and I won't be going anywhere anytime soon."  
He added before standing again, quickly grabbing the bag to put it in the spare room just down the hall.

When the rabbit went to put her bag away, Molly sat back on the couch, pulling Fat nuggets close and hugging him tightly with joy.

As the rabbit came back, he made sure to grab a few of his most comfortable blankets and an apple from the kitchen for the pig before rejoining Molly.

"Now then-"  
He began as he set the blankets on the far side of the couch and rolled the apple in his palm.  
"Is there anything that you need right now? I can wait for the explanation as long as I need to. I'd just like to make sure you're comfortable and taken care of first."

Molly sat comfortably on the couch, pulling all four of her knees up to her chest, shaking her head.   
"You've done so much for me already, darlin', you should come rest too."   
She smiled, patting the space beside her.   
"I'm perfectly comfortable, thanks to you."

Stewart took the offer and sat down next to the spider, handing her the apple for Fat Nuggets to have while they talked.

Of course, Stewart wanted the explanation. After having ran out on him the other day, completely going off the radar and then picking up the phone earlier in tears? A lot of explaining was in order.

"So... where would you want me to begin? The explanation I owe ya."

"I think I can guess why you left in the hurry you did, but maybe start where you went; and go from there? Assuming you didn't just go right home, that is."

Molly once again nodded, taking a small breath and letting her gaze fall to the pig who began to quickly scarf up the apple.

"You're right, I didn't go immediately home... You'll probably need a lil' context of some sort, so to make things easier I'll just tell ya."   
She nodded.

"My brother, Angel Dust, he was in a relationship with the Radio Demon. I dunno how long they were together for, but if there's one thing I know? Then it's that my brother fuckin' _loved_ him like none other. I could see it when they were together- Hell, I could even see it when he was just talkin' about 'im."   
She explained, presuming the rabbit knew who the Radio Demon was, being the ruler of Hell and all.

Stewart seemed to raise a slight brow at this information.  
"I can't imagine the Radio Demon in a relationship of any sort, personally. No matter- do continue."  
He pressed, leaning forward a bit to show his genuine interest.

Molly simply scoffed, rolling her eyes.  
"And if you ask me, he _shouldn't_ have been in one to begin with- at least not in one with my brother. He's a vile, lying piece of radio shit that didn't deserve someone as great as my brother."

The rabbit gave a bit of a nod.  
"Yes, your brother does seem like a very sweet and loving demon despite his reputation."  
He then scooted a little closer.  
"Did they end up having a fight, having him run back to Valentino? Or did something else happen, do you know?"

Molly's gaze lowered a little more at that, brows furrowing together.

"No... The Radio Demon, in exchange for something apparently _soooo_ important, he betrayed Angel. He... he gave him back to Valentino- after all they went through he just..."   
She couldn't even finish her words, choking up on her tears that freely began to flow again, clouding her vision.

Stewart pursed his lips and wrapped an arm around the woman gently to comfort her.  
"I'm sorry, Molly. I can see this is difficult for you."

And he knew he was right. He could tell that Molly loved Angel and only wanted what was best for him. He could hear it in her voice and in her words that the Radio Demon had indirectly hurt her with his actions.

"He's selfish and never deserved Angel. I didn't see it for myself; but I know that your brother was loyal to him. Didn't look at me much when I met him the other night, meaning that Alastor was clearly on his mind the whole time."  
He then sighed.  
"I'm so sorry, Molly."

Using the sleeves of her sweater to once again wipe at her eyes, Molly leant into the arm around her, letting her head rest in the crook of the rabbit's neck.

"That morning when I left this apartment, I paid that overlord shit bag a visit and beat him up a lil'. And the weirdest part? He _let_ me. Al, the fuckin' ruler of this place _let_ me beat him up. And ever since then I've been trying to rationalize, stuck between the possibility that maybe he feels bad for what he did to my brother, but how could he?! He willingly made a deal with Valentino and now my brother's the one to pay for that!"

Stewart kept her close to him, listening to her words with his eyes narrowing as he tried to come up with a few theories.

"I'd say that's a sign of remorse, though I can't be sure. No one truly knows what's going on in that mind of his; and honestly, I'm afraid to know most of the time. You say he made a deal. Perhaps there's something he has planned. If I were him, I'd have a plan right from the start, before making said deal. Unfortunately we may just have to wait and see."  
He explained as he thought out loud.

Molly didn't say anything more. She wasn't even sure at this point. Despite recalling the Radio Demon saying he had to wait 'twenty days', Molly wasn't going to trust a liar. Never.

"I dunno..."   
She mumbled into the rabbit's neck, calming down a little before eventually pulling away.

"When you called me this afternoon, I'd tried to get him back... but as you can imagine, Valentino stopped me. I was so angry, I stormed in there without a care in the world. I could have been erased or- ...it doesn't matter. I just want my brother back..."

The rabbit nodded in understanding, moving some more of Molly's mane out of her face.

"It'll be alright. I'm sure Angel will be fine. He's done it all before and he's a strong young man. You'll see him again in person, I can feel it."  
He replied, not just saying these things. He had a hunch that Angel was going to make it out okay and that she would see him again.

Reaching up to Stewart's cheek, Molly cupped it softly, her glossy eyes kind as she looked into his and smiled.   
"Thank you, Stew."

Stewart gave a sweet and loving smile paired with a nod.  
"Of course, love. Now, how about a movie and some down time? You've had a stressful few days. I could even run you a bath if you'd like."  
He offered, intentions still fully pure.

"I'd really like that- I probably stink, hah."   
She laughed, slowly sitting back, knowing that a bath would definitely help get her into a more relaxed state.

Looking down at Fat Nuggets who was now curled up, content with the apple he'd just eaten, Molly gently patted his head.

The rabbit gave a nod.  
"I'll get it all ready for you. Lavender, rose, or warm vanilla?"  
He asked before standing again, wanting Molly to relax and feel safe.

Letting out a small yawn, running a hand through her hair, Molly hummed.   
"Mm, lavender if ya got any."   
She smiled, watching as Stew stood up, the spider sighing softly as he left the room.

Once she was sure he couldn't hear her, Molly turned to Fat Nuggets.   
"Oh pepite... isn't he just so sweet? I feel like I don't deserve this, yet I love it at the same time."

Stewart ran the bath and added the requested scented bubbles; adding a few small touches he thought she might like as well before going to retrieve the spider.

"All set for you, Molly! Right this way."  
He offered his arm to her with a smile, leading her into the darkened bathroom lit by candles.   
"If you'd like something to read while you relax, I'm sure I can find something for you. Otherwise, take all the time you need and call for me if you need anything."

It wasn't long at all before Molly was being carefully led into the darkened bathroom, small scented candles placed around the wall ledge of the tub. Not only that, but there were chocolates, the bath was filled with bubbles, a clean robe folded neatly on the counter; and oh fuck was Molly falling _hard_.

Her mouth was agape in slight wonder at everything before her, the spider turning to the rabbit.   
"Oh shit, _wow_... thanks."   
She chuckled, nodding at the others words.

"Not a problem at all!"  
Stewart smiled with a nod, starting to make his way out of the bathroom.  
"I'll start on some dinner. Is there anything you'd prefer?"

Molly, as she saw Stewart begin to make his way out the bathroom, suddenly paused, lips pursing together a moment.

"Would you mind if you stayed?"   
She eventually let out, glancing over her shoulder at the other.   
"I'd really enjoy the company and when I'm outta this bath, I can order us somethin'?"   
She suggested instead, not wanting to make the rabbit work too much.

He paused at the door.  
"I don't see why not. I'll just grab a book while you get situated."  
The rabbit replied with a bit of a smile before slipping out of the bathroom.

He didn't want Molly to feel uncomfortable by undressing in front of him and he was going to keep his word by not overstepping in any way. He was going to make sure he had consent with everything he did.

Molly herself wasn't too bothered about Stewart being in the bathroom while she bathed- he'd already seen her naked and she was confident in her body; having nothing to hide, really.

As soon as Stewart left the room though a moment, Molly was quick in slipping off her sweater and other clothes she had on, undoing the band that her hair had been tied up in all day, letting the literal mane poof out around her thin frame.

Sighing, patting the white and pink tufts of fur on her body down, Molly carefully climbed into warmth of the bath, eyes instantly closing as she felt the water rise up to just above her shoulders, the ends of her hair soaking in the bubbles.

Stewart grabbed a book like he said he was going to and returned to the bathroom, knocking lightly before entering. Seeing that Molly was already in the bath and comfortable, he moved to sit on the floor beside the tub.

"How's the temperature?"  
He asked, glancing to Molly as he opened the book.   
She hadn't complained yet, but he wanted to make sure she was satisfied.

Molly slunk down a little more in the water, one of her hands lifting up to grab one of the chocolates.  
"Stew, sugar, it's so perfect. You really know how to please a woman, huh?"   
She laughed, popping the chocolate into her mouth and closing her eyes, content that the rabbit was there in the room beside her.   
"Today's just been so _awful_ , but meetin' up with you's really cheered me up- thank you."

"It's really the least I could do for a swell darlin' like yourself. I'm glad I could help make things a bit better."  
He replied, now looking to his book as he began to read to himself.

They talked a bit while Molly had her down time, Stewart enjoying the conversations about anything and everything. Fat Nuggets even came in and sat in the rabbit's lap half way through.  
The pig was distressed too but seemed to relax with its caretaker.

Throughout her little relaxation session in the bath, Molly did just that, enjoying the pleasant conversations that arose between her and Stewart over the minutes and overall just having a really great time.

When Molly was ready, Stewart helped her out of the bath and wrapped her up in the robe, then cleaned up the bathroom a bit while Molly dried off and got dressed.   
He took her dirty clothes and threw them into the washing machine, got her the pack of cigarettes she wanted and ordered their food.

Molly made her way out to the balcony of the apartment after dressing and started to have her smoke while Stewart paid for their meal and got it ready on plates.

It was a nice night, she noticed. Quickly using her lighter to light the end, Molly leant over the glass railing, letting a long needed puff of smoke escape her lips as she gazed up into the scarlet colored sky of Hell.

Naturally, her gaze crossed the horizon, falling upon the towering building in the distance, it's luminous sign most probably visible from halfway across Hell due to how obnoxious it was. But that was the porn studios all over, she supposed. And that was Valentino too.

"Come home soon Anthony..."   
She softly whispered.

Once Stewart had gotten their food together, he brought their plates out to the spider, setting them on the small table that sat out there.

Coming up behind her, he placed a hand to the small of her back.  
"It'll be alright, Molly. Don't you worry."  
He hummed softly, looking out to where her eyes were.   
The view surely wasn't going to help with her pain with the studio in sight, but he was going to be there for her.

Molly didn't flinch at the hand to her back, knowing who it was. Simply sighing as she took another drag of the cigarette, she let out the smoke again before turning over her shoulder to look at Stewart.

"Yeah... it's gunna be alright."   
She eventually nodded, trying to be positive.

Positivity may not have been a big thing down in Hell, however there were times where it was needed. And to Molly? Now was definitely one of those times.

"It will all be okay Stew... I know it will."


	5. Welcome 'Home', Angie

Angel sat on the floor crying over the now smashed radio for a while longer but eventually had to stop, knowing he'd have to hide all traces of it before Valentino came back up.

Gathering all of the pieces, Angel quickly found a hiding spot for it in one of the barely used cupboards in the kitchen; just for the time being. From there, he did the line of cocaine he'd left, then rushed to the bathroom to start cleaning up his tear-stained cheeks and use some eye drops to ease the puffiness.

The arachnid was rather frantic by this time and did the best he could to appear normal... or- as normal as he had been when Valentino had left last.   
Moving back over to the couch, Angel cleaned the table off and put the rest of the unused drugs on the counter before laying back down on the couch with a sniff.   
He just hoped he'd have the strength to endure whatever it was Valentino had planned for him that day. They discussed it but his memory was failing him now.

After that small distraction with a spider in the downstairs lobby, Valentino moved swiftly back into the elevator and pressed the button to his luxurious penthouse suite. His dear Angel had some explaining to do.   
The spider's sister didn't just turn up for no reason and cause the scene she did- therefore Valentino was only naturally forced to believe that Angel had somehow found a way to contact her and bring her here. And that, in the overlord's opinion, was breaking the rules. Besides, Angel hadn't really had any form of punishment given to him since he arrived and Valentino's patience could only stretch so far.

Valentino stood in the center of the elevator, all four arms crossed behind his back, chin held high as the doors to the top level opened, his boots tapping slowly against the hard flooring as he stepped into his suite.   
"Angel Cakes, are you here?"   
His voice rung out sickly sweet, a red and golden toothed grin upon his face as he looked around for his star, eventually glancing down at him laying on the couch.   
"I think we need a little _talk_..."

Angel held one of his arms draped over his closed eyes. Upon hearing Valentino call out, his entire body flinched for a moment. Something was wrong. Valentino carried that certain tone in his voice that gave the arachnid crazy anxiety.  
As the steps stopped just beside him, Angel moved his arm and opened his mismatched eyes to look right up at his boss.  
"What's up, Vee?~"  
He had to force the pleasantness and seductive tone a little, but not by much because the cocaine and Valentino's pills had started to kick in.  
"What happened? Is the shoot not happenin' anymore? I'm ready for it."

Valentino was silent, keeping his gaze down at the spider, red eyes narrowed as he listened to what Angel had to say.   
"I never thought you'd go behind my back like that again... and after everything we discussed? Angie, _darling_ , I won't allow it."   
Voice becoming a little more dangerous, Valentino leaned down some more, leaning in close to the spider now.   
"Stand up~"   
He purred into the spider's ear, slowly taking a step back.

Angel did as he was told without much hesitation. His boss was mad. Fuming. When he was eerily calm, that was the time to _really_ panic. Never a good sign.

The arachnid stood, forcing his body to appear less tense as he looked up at his towering boss. Angel was now thinking that maybe Valentino had a camera set and he knew about the radio. But he didn't see why he'd be mad about it. He smashed it to pieces after all.   
"I didn't go behind your back, babe. I've been here the whole time."

Valentino pushed his glasses up his face once Angel had stood, his face displeased as he looked him up and down.   
"You know, Angie, I'd consider your sweet sister lucky if I were you~"   
He began, not planning on inflicting any physical pain on the spider just before the shoot- that would be rather inconvenient seeing as there wouldn't be much time for makeup.   
"I could have easily pulled her in for a contract with me right then and there- she seemed oh so eager to do so, after all."

Valentino knew that Angel hadn't left the suite here at all, so that meant he had a phone somewhere.  
"So sad that the bitch had to be dragged away. She would have been the perfect star alongside you~ I suppose you regret messaging her here now, hm?"

Angel's eyes widened for a moment before his brows furrowed, shaking his head.  
"Whatcha talkin' about? I ain't got a phone. You took it, remember? I dunno where it is- or _any_ phone for that matter."  
He paused, having to bite his tongue for the next part he wanted to say.

By no means would he _ever_ ask Molly to go anywhere near the studios, knowing the shitty things that happened around the building, much less with Valentino. The last thing he'd want was for her to get wrapped up in the bullshit that went on in this industry in general.

"Vee, I ain't gunna go behind your back. I learned all that the hard way. I learned my lesson."  
He added with a soft and sincere tone.

"Now now Angie... no lying to me~"   
Valentino pressed on.   
"Why would your sister come here, kicking and screaming like the little bitch she is, hm? She killed one of my underlings, as fuckin' useless as they are. There's no way she'd come here without being prompted, Angel Cakes. She never came here for your whore ass before, so why now?!"

Taking another step forwards, Valentino placed a hand upon Angel's shoulder, trailing a finger lightly up his neck and across his jaw.   
"We've talked about what happens to people who disobey me, right?~ And we wouldn't want to have to throw your ass in there now, would we?~"   
Pausing, Valentino suddenly gripped Angel's jaw with his entire hand, sharp claws digging into the spider's cheek a little.   
"So you better not let it fuckin' happen again, or I'm throwing you in the grey room!"

The spider's eyes closed tightly, fear quickly taking over his body more aggressively and mercilessly.   
Shaking his head as his mismatched eyes opened again, he looked into the overlord's red pools for a very brief moment, not wanting him to take the chance and take advantage of lingering eye contact.

"N-No, Vee, it won't happen again, I promise!"  
Angel gulped with his cheeks squished together in the roaches gasp, upper set of hands gripping Valentino's wrist.  
"I promise, okay? I promise!"

"If she comes back, it will be _two_ spiders dead."   
Harshly letting go of the spider, Valentino watched as he fell forwards.   
"Get up and get ready. The shoot starts in five."   
He spat out before turning on his heels, boots clicking against the flooring as he swiftly walked away into his room.

Angel, now on his knees, had to fight the tears of both fear and anger as he glared at his boss, waiting for him to be out of sight before pulling himself up from the floor.   
He brushed himself off and grabbed the little clear bag of drugs and set up another line.

This was horse shit in the purest form. He didn't do anything. Molly showed up on her own accord. He didn't have contact with the outside world. He broke the radio so that wasn't even an option to him.

Snorting the second line, hoping it would boost him up again, the arachnid moved into the bathroom and made sure he looked somewhat presentable. Not that it really mattered.

Five minutes passed quickly, and when it did, Valentino moved back out of his room and towards the elevator, presuming that Angel was following behind him.   
"I don't want any of that disobedience shit from you when we're there."   
He grumbled, calling the elevator and stepping in once it arrived.   
"Do as the client asks like a good boy, hm?"

Angel stepped into the small room, keeping his chest puffed outwards and his chin up in attempts to look at least somewhat confident.   
With a simple nod, the spider took a deep breath and glanced up at Valentino for a moment, thinking he should maybe suck up a little. Plus those pills were starting to really set in, the blow working in his favor now too.

"'Course, Daddy~ wouldn't dream ruinin' our rep~"  
Angel purred as he latched onto Valentino's side, tracing small shapes over the overlord's coat with a small smile.

As Angel replied, Valentino raised a brow, a smug smile pulling at his lips, one of his free arms patting the top of Angel's head.   
"There's a good boy~"   
The roach replied, pleasantly surprised.   
Finally. It seemed as if they were getting somewhere.

Very quickly did the elevator ding, doors opening on one of the middle floors that were used to shoot and record usual content.   
"Here we are, Angie baby~"

The room was well put together, not that the rooms weren't always.   
Angel could see that this was set for some sort of occasion or for a very important client, a few demons here and there making sure everything was set and ready.

Detaching from Valentino's side, the spider stepped out of the elevator and looked around a bit.   
Vox sat in the corner of the room, cleaning the lens of a camera that was likely going to be used. The eyes of his screen looking towards the two demons that had arrived, his bored expression being quickly replaced with a wide teal-toothed grin.

"Well well, the star made it back in one piece!"  
The TV cheered as he set the camera aside and stood from his seat, strutting over. He stood tall and carried himself well, just a tad taller than the arachnid.

Angel jumped a bit at the sudden voice but quickly relaxed again.  
"Hey babe! How ya been?"  
He greeted in return as Vox wrapped an arm around the spider's shoulders, who in turn placed a kiss to the side of his screen and wrapped two arms around his waist.

"Been so _boring_ around here without you."  
The TV admitted, embracing the bit of affection from the pornstar.

Valentino strode confidently into the room, letting Angel go from his side after noticing the spider's attention moving over to Vox.

"Don't get too comfy, Angel Cakes. The camera's waitin' for you~"   
He grinned, moving across to another demon who was standing by another camera, making sure everything was set- they were in charge of this shoot it seemed.

"Make this shoot quick, y'hear? I got a client comin' in around an hour and I don't want the spider too worn out for them."   
Valentino ordered, the other demon quickly nodding in response, snapping their fingers in the direction of another few demons who immediately began to scurry about, looking frantic.

"Pathetic.."   
Valentino sighed before striding back over to Angel.

Angel and Vox exchanged a few more words before the TV overlord made his way back over to where he'd been perched.   
Angel looked up at Valentino as he made his way over with a bit of a smile.

Maybe he should have cut that last line in half. His energy was really high and the pill he'd taken- the first as far as he was aware; was almost in full effect as well.

"So, whatcha need me to do for this? Obviously I'll be over there-"  
He pointed towards the clean and luxurious bed.  
"Just a striptease? Toys? Name it baby."

Valentino crossed two of his arms over his chest, one other hand pointing towards the bed that was in the center of the set.   
"Teasing poses only, Angie. I'm sure you know what to do. These shots will be on the front of a magazine, so make them good."   
He ordered, taking another step back.

Waiting until the pornstar was situated, the demons running the camera and lights began their jobs, wanting to make quick work of this shoot just as Valentino had asked.

Angel gave a nod, strutting over to the bed with a hum before lowering himself down onto it. The soft fabric embraced him which caused him to almost melt like butter into it. He would have if he didn't have an immediate job to do.

The spider wasted no time in getting himself into a comfortable yet suggestive position, his legs bent into a W with his upper set of hands nicely placed between his legs while the lower set sat behind his back.

This part wasn't going to be too bad, but as soon as the physical part that was apparently planned for later started, he was going to have a bit of trouble staying with it; seeing as it had been so long since he'd had any sort of contact like that. Not that it mattered to Valentino, of course.

Angel adjusted his position and opened his clothes a bit in a teasing way during the shoot, having been instructed just to do teasing covers.   
If he weren't on the substances he was, he would have been hesitant and fighting against having to do such things.   
He'd been away from all of this for so long.

It was always a joy to watch these scenarios, Angel doing the one thing that he was destined to do.

After a long break, it certainly did put a smug smile back upon the overlord's face.   
Already, he had fans from all over thanking him and potential clients contacting him in regards to the spider's return to the studios, the popularity of the industry suddenly skyrocketing after its noticeable plummet following Angel's exit.

"That's beautiful Angie~"   
Valentino eventually called from the other side of the camera, clapping slowly with a bright grin upon his face.   
"My my, I bet you feel better after that, hm? You still have that spark."

By this time, Angel was situated with his ass up in the air and face down flush against the fabric, his clothes disheveled on his body. A faux lustful expression upon his features.

As Valentino praised him, the arachnid sat up and fixed his hair a bit with a grin that looked genuine; though, inside he was almost dying.

He had seen the silhouette of Alastor again, something he was sure he was hallucinating. It made him anxious at first but as soon as it disappeared, his anxiety wasn't nearly as bad. Not to mention the drugs were a huge help here.

"Mhm! Feels great, Vee!~"  
He chimed, pulling his shirt up over his scarred shoulder again.

"That was excellent work, Angie, as always~"   
Valentino praised, slowly walking towards the bed on set and leading Angel off of it.   
"One tiny problem- your shoulder. I don't care how you got that scar, but I want it gone. I've got somethin' for that, remind me later."

Angel looked to his shoulder for a moment at the mention of the scar.   
That scar meant a lot to him, but it also brought back some memories that he wished he could forget; but at the same time he wanted to keep it. It was confusing, but that's how his mind ran.

With a reluctant nod, Angel sighed, not bothering to question what it was Valentino had that could get rid of a scar so vivid and flamboyant.  
"Alright. Anyways- what's next?"  
He asked, moving on to something to keep himself distracted.

Valentino was about to inform Angel that now the shoot had finished, the party would be beginning, and to get prepared to greet the client, however before any of those words could be said, the elevator dinged and the arachnid's name was suddenly being screeched.

"ANGEL!"  
The demon squealed, causing everyone on the floor to flinch a bit, especially the spider.

"Hey Velvet!"  
He grinned nervously as she bounded over, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulled him down to her height, holding her phone in front of them as she snapped a quick selfie with the arachnid.

With a heavy sigh of exhaustion, Valentino brought a hand to his forehead, shaking his head slowly at the sight of the female demon.

"Velvet, make this quick. Angie has a client to meet shortly."   
He stated, somewhat unsurprised that she would barge in.

Velvet grinned excitedly up at the skyscraper of a demon.  
"I heard Angel was back and wanted to see him! Is that so wrong, mister business meanie?"  
She put her hands on her hips and swayed them a little as she spoke, the poofy skirt of her dress moving along with her hips.

Angel gave a small laugh, glad to see that Velvet hadn't changed a bit from her usual high energy self.

The small female then turned back to her phone to post the picture to her social media with all of the hashtags and a little caption.

"Because you're in such a _mood_ today, Val, I'll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing. See ya 'round, Angel! Good to have you back!"  
She exclaimed as she got back in the elevator with a wave and big smile.

Valentino simply rolled his eyes, glad to see the hyperactive demon move back to the elevator.   
"Back to what we were discussing before her pointless disruption..."   
He began, turning now to Angel.

"The client will be arriving halfway through the party. Do as he asks and you'll have the back room with him when he's ready."   
Valentino nonchalantly explained, reaching a hand out to pull the shoulder of Angel's shirt up again, hiding the hideous scar that was there.

With the instructions given and short description, Angel figured this demon had paid a fair amount of money for this.

"So, it's gunna be like a private session or will there be cameras and shit too? Either way I ain't complainin'."  
He shrugged, fixing his clothes a bit more.  
"And what's the party for? Someone's manifestation day or somethin'?"  
He asked, now curious.

Valentino paused a moment. He hadn't told Angel the purpose of said party yet, however now seemed a fitting time to do so.

"It will be a private shoot, something that the client had specifically asked for."   
Valentino added, glancing over his shoulder at some demons who were trying to get his attention to which he simply shooed them away.

Angel gave a nod in understanding, not that it mattered either way. The client had already paid and it was going to happen whether he liked it or not.

"And this party, Angie, is to celebrate your return home."

"A party for... me?"  
He was a bit confused. Valentino hadn't done something like this for him before. Then again, he knew he shouldn't be too excited and hopeful. It could turn out to be a mass of clients that paid to have a fucking orgy or something for all he knew.   
He had no faith or trust in anyone anymore. That ship had finally sailed and definitely wasn't coming back anytime soon.

Valentino just nodded, eyes narrowing at the spider.   
"Yes, for _you_."   
He repeated, soon waltzing away and leaving Angel to his own devices momentarily, preparing the room for the soon starting party.

Angel was situated on the couch with a few demons around him and by his sides. He was having a fairly good time, giggling and enjoying the affectionate attention he was receiving. It wasn't the kind he'd used to, but this was definitely better than nothing at all.

He was too caught up sprawled out across three different demons' laps when the main client entered the room.   
The three demons were enjoying Angel laid across their legs, hands all over his body and running through his chest fluff.   
There were many others observing and drinking around him.

Valentino sat across the room, a few of his other stars attached at his sides, keeping him company as the party went on, his narrowed eyes watching the elevator for the client.

In all honesty, Valentino hadn't been informed of when exactly the client would be arriving, however, half an hour after the shoot, it seemed that the client turned up a little earlier than what he presumed, the very wealthy looking demon striding into the room through the elevator.

Valentino was up and making his way over, catching Angel's eye from across the room and beckoning him with a finger across to him.

Once Angel noticed Valentino stand, he quickly got up and excused himself with a grin and a wink.  
Strutting over to his boss with confidence, he fluffed his chest. He was starting to feel a bit tired, but sure as hell didn't want to show it.  
Valentino raised his chin as Angel came strutting over, the overlord snaking an arm around Angel's waist. 

"What's up Vee?~"  
He cooed, snuggling up to the roach with a smile.

"Angel Cakes, meet your client for the night. Be a good boy for him and I'll leave you two to get acquainted~ use the back room when you need."   
Was all Valentino said before pulling away from Angel and simply walking away, not another glance back.  
He'd received his money, and now it was down to Angel to simply satisfy. Valentino couldn't have cared less what they did- the money received was sufficient enough.

Angel looked to the demon as soon as Valentino pointed him out. Fluffing his chest again, he made his way over and latched onto the demon.

"Hey baby, how are we doin' today?~"  
The arachnid purred as he latched onto the demon with a smile.  
"Wanna go somewhere a little more private?~"

The client was all too eager in going along with anything that Angel Dust said, being just another high paying horny bastard looking for a good time.   
He was led to the back room that Valentino had all prepared for them, as most of the rooms were.

Valentino on the other hand simply sat back and enjoyed the rest of the party, his employees attached like leeches to his side, catering to his every need.  
  


***

Angel slowly began to stir, not knowing what time it was nor what day it was. He remembered nothing, barely even knowing his own identity.

The spider kept his eyes closed, feeling a body beside him. Angel was beginning to remember... but not accurately.

"Mm... Al...?"  
He hummed softly, cuddling closer to the body.   
"I had a bad dream..."  
He grumbled through his exhaustion.

The body didn't fit Alastor's figure in the slightest, but he wasn't in the right state of mind to be questioning anything.

The party the previous night certainly had ended rather interestingly. After Angel's client had left, it seemed that the spider was in quite the state, having passed out shortly after joining back in the party again. From there, not wanting his star to be left on the floor all night, Valentino brought Angel back up to the penthouse suite and simply laid him in the overlord's bed- a place that Angel rarely laid in, which was a bit of a surprise. He used to love it.

Valentino was unsurprisingly awake when Angel stirred, his drugged out state from the previous night hopefully having settled.   
However, upon hearing Angel's words, the sleazy demon couldn't help but grin. It was obvious Angel still cared for the Radio Demon and it was it going to be fun to see Angel slowly lose hope in Alastor as the months went on.

"Well then... perhaps I can make that nightmare a reality~"   
Valentino purred, wrapping an arm around Angel's sleepy form.

At first, the voice came through as Alastor's... but as soon as it processed in his head that it was far from the Radio Demon, Angel's eyes shot open and his body tensed; which actually really hurt him. His entire body was sore. And that's when his memory started coming back around.

The client had really done a number on him. He could feel the bruises and rope burn on his body.

The spider's fists and jaw clenched. This wasn't what he needed. This wasn't what he wanted.   
Without saying a word, Angel slowly peeled himself away from the roach and held his breath to keep himself from actually screaming.

Valentino slowly sat up as Angel pushed away from him, clearly disturbed over the fact that this was not the demon he'd expected to wake up to, clearly.

"Oh c'mon Angie, stay with Daddy~ You had a rough night, don't you want a little lie-in?"   
He grinned all the more, beckoning the spider to move closer again.

Angel's body was rather bruised, not a good sight, especially since he had some more shoots later on.   
Valentino supposed makeup would have to do, as it always did when the spider got like that.

Angel simply let himself be pulled back, though very reluctant in doing so. He wasn't allowed to fight Valentino. Anything he wanted the spider to do, he'd have to go along with it.   
Angel could put in the suggestion stating he wasn't necessarily willing to do whatever it was, but if it was insisted, he wasn't allowed to reject.

With his face pressed back into the overlord's coat, Angel kept his breathing to a minimum in order to keep the roach's scent out of his nostrils and lungs. It wasn't Alastor's so he didn't want it.

He stayed quiet, expression staying as if he'd just seen a ghost.

A couple of days quickly passed at the porn studios, Valentino forcing Angel to do more and more shoots for the upcoming film that the spider was scheduled to begin recording very soon. It would be the arachnid's first full movie ever since his return, and it seemed the moment that word was out, all of Hell was absolutely ballistic in waiting.


	6. The Final Hour

It was a very exciting time for Valentino, however, in terms of his star... things weren't exactly going as he would have liked. It had been over two weeks- nineteen days actually since Angel had been returned to him, but progress was _still_ slow. Talking back was always something Angel had been guilty of, however disobeying Valentino in such a way, shouting in his face and blatantly refusing anything and everything?   
That was unacceptable.   
And as had been threatened before, Valentino immediately took action against that.

Angel, having been temporarily sedated, completely stripped down, tied up, and muzzled; he now sat alone in a small empty room.   
He wouldn't be able to move for a few more minutes at least due to the tranquilizers he was shot with.

Tears running down his cheeks, Angel was left in the darkened windowless room, all six arms and his two legs tied tightly.   
The spider tried to keep himself under control and cooperate, but his overwhelming feelings for the Radio Demon wouldn't allow it. He couldn't.

"I'm sorry darling, but until you learn to obey, you'll be spending a while in there~"   
Valentino called out smugly as he closed and locked the door to the grey room- a seclusion room specifically for his employees when they disobeyed in any serious way.

With Angel secured in the grey room, Valentino decided a small trip out was in order.   
Angel had caused quite a bit of damage to property and demons; both other employees and clients. He almost felt bad for the last client the arachnid was with.

"I'll be back in an hour or so. Angel won't be leaving that room until tomorrow."  
The overlord stated to the demon at the front desk as he strode out of the building.

This caught the attention of an ever-looming shadow, who was quick to make its way back to its caster.

The past two weeks had been surprisingly normal. With every passing day, the Radio Demon seemed to gain more of his sense of self back, focusing more on the duties he had as ruler of Hell, rather than moping around his basement, regretting everything he'd done in regards to Angel. Of course, he was still in pieces about it and feared that regret would never leave him, however, he never let it show outside the comforts of his home- smile continuously wide, the deer always swiftly ignoring questions regarding Valentino and the spider.

He'd promised himself years ago not to ever find himself so distraught over anything after the passing of his mother- however it seemed that he really was terrible at keeping promises. He himself was no exception.

Constantly, Alastor had been keeping tabs on Angel, sending his shadow stalking the studios, reporting back everything concerning, interesting or worthwhile that he found.

And finally, on the nineteenth day, an hour before the clocks of Hell were to strike midnight, his shadow returned with the most excellent news.

The shadow was full of energy and almost frantic in telling the Radio Demon. It had been in quite the state over the time, matching that of its caster.   
The things it had to watch were horrible and reporting to Alastor with the events just made it all worse.

But now? Now was going to make up for all of that. The deal was going to be completed and the satisfaction was going to be overwhelming.

The shadow practically grabbing Alastor and pushing him towards the door, it was clearly excited.

Alastor was just as ecstatic as his shadow, fingers snapping and summoning his microphone as he was pushed towards the door.   
"Yes yes, I know- we still have to be meticulous though, my friend."   
Alastor quickly replied, calling the shadow back to him as he left his home in haste, not missing a beat in materializing outside of the porn studios, his grin increasingly growing as he looked up to the penthouse where everything had been happening.

"Soon my Angel..."   
He whispered to himself, keeping himself out of sight as he teleported up to Valentino's suite, not wanting to give his presence away just yet. That would ruin the surprise after all.

Alastor, as he appeared in the suite, noticed that all the lights were off, Angel nowhere to be seen. However, his shadow shook its head and led him over to what looked to be a side room, Alastor quickly figured out what was going on.

The shadow guided the deer to a room just off to the side of the elevator where it then stopped, blue smile fading slightly for a moment before slinking under the door to unlock and open it.

Alastor took a stand in front of the door as it was unlocked, complete darkness filtering through into the suite as Alastor looked in, freezing, his eyes glowing in the darkness. It may have only been twenty days, but it sure as Hell felt like a lifetime.

This was the first time Alastor was seeing the spider in over two weeks... and to see what Valentino had done to him? It brought the deer nothing but rage and even more guilt.

There sat the spider, naked figure shaking in the corner of the dark room. It was apparent that he thought Valentino had returned.

"... Anthony?"   
Alastor called softly, almost not wanting to disturb the silence.

As soon as Alastor's voice was heard, Angel's head snapped in his direction, eyes wide. The tears didn't stop. If anything, they got worse.   
The muzzle kept his words muffled as he tried to push himself back further into the corner, but that didn't stop him from trying to use his voice.

If he was honest, he was almost relieved to see the Radio Demon. But at the same time, he didn't want to see him. The spider still hated him for what he did.

Alastor wasn't sure what he expected, perhaps for Angel to come running into his arms again, as sappy and completely unrealistic that was- but that certainly wasn't the case.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, keeping his head held high, face unfaltering, Alastor took a few steps towards the cowering form of Angel in the corner, and he slowly knelt down.   
Angel may not have been able to reply, but that didn't mean he couldn't hear Alastor.

"I understand your hatred."   
He simply mused, recognizing the spider's face to be a mix of pained, angry and relieved.   
From his position close to the ground, Alastor snapped his fingers, Angel's usual striped outfit that Alastor knew him to frequently wear, suddenly appearing upon the arachnid's form. He would give him that decency first.

Angel looked down at himself for a moment, feeling the clothes and boots on his body again.   
It was probably wise that Alastor hadn't removed the rope or muzzle yet. Angel would have taken full advantage of that. Instead, the spider kept himself pressed back into the corner; almost hoping that the wall would move back with him so he could get away.

With Angel fully clothed, Alastor stood up, taking a long breath, his own exhaustion clear.   
Yes, he would explain his sudden appearance before going any further and unbinding the arachnid.

His head raising again, the pain in his eyes said everything as he tried to speak again, not caring that nothing was coherent.   
The confused pain switched out with pure anger, then the pain crept back, and then sadness as tears continued to stream freely from his eyes.

"Listen... Angel."   
He began, unable to meet the spider's eyes, keeping his gaze upon the cold flooring of the tiny room. 

"Words can't explain what I feel currently, and I am sure you are experiencing something similar. But I shall save the main explanation for later- I don't know when he'll be back. I'm getting you out of here, my dear. Will you come with me?"   
Finally, Alastor looked to the other, his eyes embarrassingly glossing over as he waited for a shake or nod of the spider's head.

Angel was certainly confused. There was a solid minute of silence as he weighed his options with his eyes set on his boots.

If he said yes, he could easily double cross Alastor just like he did to him. Plus he'd be out of Valentino's grasp...  
But on the other hand, Valentino would be able to find him and bring him back pretty damn quick because the contract was still active.  
But again, this was Alastor. He always had a plan. Maybe he was going to be able to get ahold of the contract and get rid of it? There was really only one way to find out.

He didn't know when Valentino would be back either, so he had to give an answer and he had to give it right then.

The spider mumbled a few concerns to himself despite the muzzle as he leaned back against the wall and tilted his head up, looking up at the ceiling.   
With a bit of a huff, the arachnid closed his eyes before looking at Alastor again, giving a slow and hesitant nod.

If this meant he had a chance of freedom again, he was going to take it.

Alastor waited for an answer, not even his usual quiet static cutting through the air.   
And when Angel's slow nod came, Alastor nodded in return, no hesitation as he snapped his fingers, the muzzle unbuckling itself and falling to the ground.   
After that, the ties around Angel's body simply burnt away into black ash, freeing the spider from all bounds.

As soon as the arachnid's mouth was freed, he spit the mouthpiece out that was stuck in his mouth under the muzzle and gasped for proper air, coughing; the tight restraints being removed caused him to sigh in relief.

Wiping his chin of any drool and the tears from his cheeks with one of his upper arms, he rubbed the rope burns on his other limbs.

"Before we go on, I would just like to say something."   
The deer spoke up again, turning towards the open door. 

Angel paused at Alastor's voice again, about to say something himself but stopped.

"I do not expect you to forgive me. What I did was inexcusable, however, I would like to do one last thing with you, if anything... how would you like to kill a roach?"

Eyes narrowing, the spider slowly followed the Radio Demon and past him out of the empty room. That request was something that he'd been wanting to act on himself for so long and there wasn't a chance he'd decline it now.

Keeping his reply short and simple, still being quite confused, angry, sad, hurt and _almost_ happy.  
"Sure."

Alastor simply sighed at the reply, following Angel out and closing the door to the grey room behind him. It was still dark in the suite aside from the city lights coming through the pink-tinted windows, and from what his shadow had told him, Valentino would be back shortly.

Looking around the room, Alastor's eyes caught a clock on the wall- it was almost a new day down in Hell... almost day twenty.

"We will wait for him to return."   
Alastor spoke, slowly strutting around the suite, prying a little.  
"I... suppose you'll be wanting to do all the work?"   
That was a given.

Sure, Alastor had a rich hated for the sleazy demon, however, it was nothing in comparison to what Angel had festered away for Valentino. Something that had been brewing for decades no doubt.

The arachnid watched Alastor for a few moments, keeping his expression plain and almost bored. He didn't care that Alastor was snooping around.

Nothing in the suite was fitted to Alastor's tastes at all, it was far too regal and unnecessarily luxurious; and there was nothing catching his eye. Or at least nothing that wasn't out of sight. He was sure Valentino had some interesting belongings, as most overlords did, given their power, but the deer was in no mood to go snooping that far. His shadow was lurking on the lookout in case Valentino was to return early, so now it was simply a matter of waiting.

With a simple shrug as his reply, Angel nodded towards the elevator.  
"Let's go to the office. That's probably gunna be the first place he goes to seeing as I was supposed to be in there 'til tomorrow. He ain't got much reason to come up here other than that."  
He explained with a cold and indifferent tone before heading for the elevator.   
The spider didn't see much point in talking to Alastor at this point. He felt like nothing he said was going to matter to the Radio Demon.

Angel, knowing this building and Valentino a lot better than Alastor did, the deer had every intention of going along with his wishes.   
With an absentminded nod, Alastor followed behind Angel to the elevator, immediately opening upon the button being pressed.

They stood in silence.

On their way, Angel had so much he wanted to say and do, mainly punching the shit out of the deer and screaming, but he knew he needed to save that rage for Valentino.

As soon as the doors opened, the spider walked over to the desk and sat down in the large chair, putting his feet up on the desk and pulled his third set of arms into his body again.

Upon stepping into the office, Alastor moved over to the large window, leaning against it slightly, holding his microphone with both his hands.

Looking out over the city with ready eyes, Angel finally spoke with a forced strong tone.  
"Why'd you even bother comin' back? Thought I was just a pawn."

When Angel finally spoke, Alastor raised a brow, his gaze not leaving Hell below.  
He replied quickly, voice just as strong, it's usual radio static having returned.   
"A pawn for what? There is no game I'm playing anymore. There never was. Valentino gave me no time to explain."

Angel shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to keep his tears at bay.  
"Explain what? Doesn't seem like there's much to explain. Ya made your deal with him and that's that."

Alastor continued to stare out over Hell, being able to see the reflection of Angel behind him in the glass.   
"This was the only way to make sure he was gone for good. He slipped up, it was his mistake, I saw the chance and took it. I knew full well that he would ask for you, and it was wrong of me to give you away. I had no right to. You didn't belong to me in the first place."

Angel had to take a breath, seeming to disregard Alastor's words completely.  
"What'd I do wrong?"  
His voice was now soft, the pain taking over his cracking voice.

And as it had been doing a lot these past few weeks, the Radio Demon's heart began to hurt upon hearing Angel's true pain pushing through the fragile wall of his strength.   
"You... you did nothing. It was me. _I_ made the mistake."

Angel said nothing more, needing to keep his eyes tearless so weakness wouldn't be seen by the two overlords. He didn't want Alastor to see him weak again. There had been more than enough of that in the past.

With a sniff, the arachnid adjusted his position and took his feet off of the desk; starting to look through the drawers. He knew there was something important in one of them that he'd need if this all went smoothly.

Alastor didn't move, keeping his focus on the pentagram that covered the dark scarlet sky, lights from smaller buildings like specks down below.   
If Angel allowed him to, he would explain in more detail later.

He could hear Angel rummaging around in the desk drawer, however, Alastor's attention was soon on the wall of the office, his familiar shadow appearing with a curled grin, simply nodding. There were still five minutes to go, though if Angel was inflicting the pain, Alastor hardly doubted the spider would make this quick for the sleaze lord. He'd string it out as long as he possibly could.

"He's on his way."   
Alastor informed the spider, silently thanking his shadow, fully visible now as it made its way back over to the deer.

Angel looked up as the deer spoke, taking full note of the shadow now. He'd question it later if he decided to stick around and listen to Alastor's explanation.   
He knew he saw something like it before but thought it was his imagination every single time.

With a bit of a nod, the spider moved some of the papers around, finding a little notch underneath it all and pulled the cover up and out of the drawer, tossing it aside. With all of the contents on the floor now, Angel found what he was looking for. A key and a fair amount of pills. There were more somewhere in the building so he'd have to get those before leaving.

Pocketing what he could, Angel shut the drawer again and stood from the office chair with a bit of a forced smile.  
"Do me a favor. Stay outta the way and hold the bitch down when I say so."  
He explained as he moved to the front of the desk and scooted his butt up to sit on it.

Alastor, with the knowledge that Valentino was on his way up, moved a little closer to the corner of the room, watching with a raised brow as Angel pocketed some of the pills his shadow had informed him about. It was infuriating the way Valentino had forced Angel to take those deadly pills again. All of the spider's hard work to get off of them, for nothing. But it was alright. Now was the time for revenge. It wouldn't happen again.

"Oh, I know my dear. And all I have to say to you, is to not look too much into his eyes- if you can."   
The deer replied with a shrug, looking towards another clock that was on the wall. Two minutes.

"Y'think I don't know what he's capable of after all this time? Glad ya think I'm fuckin' stupid."  
The spider rolled his eyes and scoffed, shaking his head as he placed one leg over the other and leaned back on his upper set of hands; while the lower set rested over his knee.

Needless to say, Angel was going to enjoy every second of this and there wasn't going to be an ounce of mercy shown to the one who caused him so much pain over the years. He just hoped it would all go without any snags.

Alastor just shook his head, deciding not to say anything more for the time being. It was clear he and Angel weren't on good terms, and Alastor didn't want to worsen their already broken relationship.   
For now, he would focus on the present, not the past and not the hopeful future. The elevator was moving, and there was only one demon it could be.

Moving as far back as he could to the corner of the darkened room, his ever-glowing eyes were the only visible part of him, quiet static and the soft constant noise of switching radio channels filled the air. Angel was sat on the desk, his excitement clear as the elevator finally dinged, doors slowly opening.


	7. The New King Of Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday, Nova! Thank you for all of the fantastic art you've been making for the fic!
> 
> A lot of gore ahead. Hopefully you'll be satisfied~ 😈

Valentino seemed to be a bit caught up in his own thoughts, humming to himself as he entered the room with his eyes on the floor.   
It took him a moment before he finally looked up and saw the spider sitting on top of his desk, seeming to have startled the overlord a bit.

"Angel?! How did you-"

"Heya Daddy! Thought you'd be happy to see me~" Angel cooed with a playful pout, shimmying his shoulders a bit as he leant forward.

With an irritated huff, Valentino stepped towards the spider and reached for him.  
"You best get your sweet little ass back up into that fucking room, Angie-"

Angel simply smirked and snapped his fingers- Alastor's cue to restrain him.

It seemed that the timing couldn't have been any more perfect.   
The large tower-like clock that stood tall over Hell, one which held the yearly countdown for the exterminations, began to chime, signaling a new day had begun down in Hell.

Day twenty.

Grin widening with narrowed eyes, Alastor didn't waste a second in cutting into his palm with a clawed finger, the flooring underneath Valentino breaking away to make room for black tentacles that pushed upwards, immediately constricting and holding the overlord as the Radio Demon finally made his appearance clear. There was nothing stopping him now.

Valentino's eyes widened slightly, confusion clear as he struggled to free himself before he noticed the radio static. The realization that this wasn't going to end well for him.

"You wanna try again, baby? I doubt it, butcha might succeed this time."  
Angel grinned, moving off the desk and strutting his way over to the demon that had made his entire afterlife an actual nightmare, all four hands on his hips.

"How am I gunna make this work?~"  
Angel purred to himself, bringing a hand up to tap his chin. He was careful to keep himself from making eye contact with Valentino, which gave him an idea.  
"Let's start out with a spoon. I think that'll be _fun~" <\em>_

__

Alastor slowly waltzed forwards, snapping his fingers and commanding a few lights in the room to dimly turn on, still making sure that the constraints around Valentino were kept tight. The deer made sure not to get in Angel's way, raising an eyebrow as he asked for a spoon, however granting him whatever he required. Snapping his fingers once again, a set of tools, spoon included, laid itself out on the desk behind the arachnid for him to use as he wished.

__

Angel tilted his head, hearing the tools clatter behind him. He'd been waiting for this his whole afterlife. However there was one problem.

__

The contract.

__

As it was established the first time around, it couldn't be broken by either party the contract was formed between; and until it _was <\em> broken, Angel couldn't lay an ill-intended finger upon his pimp. _

____

The spider also knew that Valentino kept the contracts he treasured the most on him at all times, never leaving them somewhere, no matter how secure.  
Moving up to the sleaze lord, Angel started removing Valentino's coat with the help of the tentacles.

____

Angel pulled the velvet fabric open, exposing Valentino's bare periwinkle skinned chest and black leather pants; his usual attire.  
Routing through the inner pockets of the coat, Angel found what he was looking for and pulled the charm out, then held it out for Alastor, assuming he knew what to do with it.

____

"Alastor, we had a _deal_!"  
Valentino growled towards the Radio Demon, still struggling to get free.   
In such a state of panic, this was usually the time when an overlord's true demon form would come through, but it seemed that either this asshole didn't have one, or he was always in his maximum form. Either way, it was pathetic. The thought of Valentino only being so widely feared because he was freakishly tall and wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet between someone's eyes. 

____

As the charm was handed to him, with the hand that wasn't controlling the tentacles, Alastor gently took it and very carefully laid it on the floor, calmly bringing a heel down upon it with a crunch, crushing it into the ground and thus breaking the contact... for good this time. Just as it had done last time, a small puff of pink smoke rose into the air, and as Alastor lifted his foot, the silver and pink charm disintegrated.

____

"Twenty days you gave me. And twenty days is the very minimum a demon has to wait before ending a deal... early shall we say. You never specified my conditions for said deal. And so, today, I've come for what is rightfully mine."   
Alastor calmly explained to the other overlord, hands resting behind his back as he slowly took a few steps forwards, looking right into Valentino's eyes, knowing they wouldn't affect him.

____

Valentino's eyes stayed locked on Alastor's for a few moments, clearly straining to keep his composure; the roach still struggling to get out of the tentacles. "Angel you listen to me! He doesn't want to help you for your sake. He's doing this for his own selfish benefit! We've been through this before, listen to me!"

____

With the charm now broken, Angel was free to harm Valentino with ill intent, not to mention with the energy he had just regained, the spider's colours had finally returned to their original vibrant state.  
Turning his back, ignoring whatever the roach was saying to him, he grabbed the spoon and examined the other tools at his disposal to see if he could figure out what he'd do with each one. "Choose your words carefully, babe. They're gunna be your last."  
The spider explained calmly.

____

Alastor could only scoff at the roach's words, knowing that he'd been feeding Angel those lies for the past twenty days.   
"Oh Valentino, I always knew this day would come. Such a shame, my good friend. However, it is your turn to fulfill your end of the deal here.... what I want is simple. Your soul will do quite nicely!" 

____

Angel hummed, turning back around with a small smile.  
"You said you'd stay out of the way, Alastor. Ya might be next if ya ain't careful."

____

Alastor smiled widely, taking a stand back against the large pink-tinted window, nodding in regards to Angel's words now.

____

"And I will my dear. I wouldn't dream of stealing this moment from you. I can understand you've been wanting this for a while. Dethrone the king of hearts until your own heart's content!"  
Alastor announced vigorously; now that he was in Angel's presence, that usual cheerful energy was finally back once again.

____

Angel rolled his eyes at the Radio Demon's words as he removed Valentino's glasses.  
"I'd hate for these to break. What’s this, your fifth pair since I got back? Snazzy lookin' things."  
The spider hummed as he carefully set the glasses on the desk behind him before leaning in closer to the roach's face; keeping his eyes on Valentino's mouth, having to lift himself a bit, Angel proceeded to whisper.  
"You've always told me to be a good boy for _you_ , and I think I did a _damn_ good job at it so far. So now I think it's time for _you_ to be a good boy for _me_ ~"

____

The arachnid then buried the silver spoon into Valentino's left eye with a sadistic grin and wide eyes.  
Hearing the overlord's cries of pain was something he'd always dreamed of, and to be the one causing them? God, it was _heavenly_.

____

And oh was the torture glorious indeed. Alastor had missed having Angel's fiery personality around, yet to have him coming back so strong like this, sadistic aura and all- it was the _perfect_ show for someone like him.

____

Valentino had caused the Radio Demon a lot of grief as of late, and to see him crying out in pain, beautiful thick blood rolling out from the sockets of his eyes as Angel violently gouged into them, Alastor only grinned wider.   
This was not a moment to be missed.

____

Summoning his microphone, Alastor immediately brought it up to his lips.   
"Ladies and gentlemen, my sleazy citizens of this cesspool called Hell- I present to you... _Angel Dust_. Oh, and _please_ enjoy the show~"   
And from there? Everything was visible, the entirety of Hell was both watching and listening to this beautiful symphony of torture, Angel's brutality being broadcast to everyone.

____

Angel couldn't be bothered with anything else. Valentino's pain was his only priority now.   
With Valentino now blinded and no way of using that bullshit power of his, Angel was free to look him in the now blood-covered face.

____

"Awwww, whatsa matter Vee? Can't see your beautiful pride and joy makin' his dream a reality? So sad~"  
Angel cooed as the let the sleaze lord's eyes fall to the floor and roll a bit before turning away again to choose a new tool.  
Valentino was unable to say much of anything, except for simply grunt and growl in pain.

____

He wanted to make this as slow and painful as he possibly could, so he picked up one of the daggers and ran it against his own palm, cutting the skin a bit as he turned back to the roach.

____

"Lay 'im on his back."  
Angel instructed with a small wave of the blade.

____

As Angel instructed him to move Valentino to his back, Alastor did just that, commanding the tentacles to move themselves and the overlord onto his back.

____

Angel paused, lidded and bored eyes slowly trailing over to Alastor.  
"Try it _again_. But this time, make sure I hear _bones_ _crackin_ '. I thought you'd be happy to give the bitch some sorta pain! _Fuck_ Al, didja lose your touch?"

____

The spider turned back to the tools and picked up a pair of pliers and a few more daggers, having a better idea of what he wanted to do now.

____

Alastor huffed a small static-filled laugh, shaking his head with a tut.   
"Why, if you wanted me to do a little damage, why didn't you just say so?" He chuckled. Raising his chin, looking down upon the pathetic demon that lay on the floor, blood staining his face, Alastor snapped his fingers, Valentino's body slowly rising into the air, the Radio Demon waving his hand around as the roach spun a couple of times around before slamming down hard onto the ground, an audible crunch from something of Valentino sounding out in the office room.

____

Angel simply grinned, turning back around as Valentino started sputtering and coughing. Something had _definitely_ broken.

____

"Perfect! There's the enthusiasm I was lookin' for!"  
The spider praised as he bounded over to the shriveled heap and on the floor. "Let's get this coat offa ya. I wanna parade around in it."  
Angel hummed as he started to remove the coat from the sleaze lord's form, then tossed it towards the stupid throne-like chair to the left of them.

____

Moving to straddle the demon, Angel moved his hands up one of Valentino's arms and held his wrist before driving one of the daggers into the palm of his hand, pinning him to the floor with it. The spider did this to all four of his hands, making sure he was sprawled out as if on a dissection board as more growls and snarls of pain erupted from the roach's throat.

____

"Ain't ya happy for me Vee?! I'm livin' my fuckin' _dream_!!"

____

Alastor watched carefully as Angel straddled and began to impale all four of Valentino's hands to the floor, indeed showing no mercy. If it had been Alastor he would have of course done it differently, however, Angel's methods were still just as sadistically beautiful. He would remember this moment for a long while and had no doubt in his mind that Angel would too.

____

Slowly strutting around the large body of the overlord on the floor, his dress shoes tapping against the solid flooring, the Radio Demon's eyes narrowed, keeping his microphone recording and broadcasting everything that was happening.

____

The arachnid kept his focus on Valentino, not giving a damn about his surroundings let alone the fact he was being shown to the entire underworld.

____

Of course Angel was a bit surprised with how little Valentino was fighting back. There was very little reason for him to be so feared.   
Then again, that was probably because Alastor was there and was a literal bug compared to him in terms of power.

____

"C'mon Vee~ y'know I like when you're vocal~"  
The spider cooed, cupping one of the roach's cheeks before punching him in the cheek as hard as he could with a loud crack.  
"Speak to your prized posse- ...oh right! HA! You don't own me anymore! I'm sorry baby, I forgot."  
The arachnid cackled as he forced Valentino's mouth open and brought the pliers up and opened them, grabbing hold of the one gold tooth among the red ones, violently ripping it out of his mouth, Valentino letting out a growling howl in response to the torture.

____

Valentino, as he bowled out in pain, found himself spitting blood and snarling loudly at Angel above him, the pain in his jaw, gums and eye sockets almost overwhelming.   
"Angel Cakes darlin'... why're you doin' this-"   
He croaked out, trying to bring out his manipulative and charming demeanor into play, chest still heaving as he struggled to pull in air from having been slammed to the ground.

____

Alastor simply watched on in amusement, his shadow leaning over him a little to get a better view of the struggling roach.

____

The spider couldn't help but snort a laugh, now holding the tooth in his hand.  
" _Why?!_ Oh, Valentino, I always knew you were kinda stupid. But I didn't think you were _that_ stupid!" He cackled.

____

"Are ya-" He paused with a wheeze. "Do you _not know_ what ya did to me?! Seventy-three _fuckin' years_ of _constant_ abuse. Seventy-three years of _trauma_. Seventy-three years of thinkin' I wasn't good for _anythin'_ but takin' it in the ass."

____

Angel nonchalantly tossed the pliers aside and stood up, moving back over to the desk.  
"Seventy-three years of wantin' to step so far outta line that you actually fuckin' killed me so I'd be fuckin' free of the bullshit!"

____

The arachnid picked up another blade and strutted over.  
"Thanks to someone I happened to run into, I know my worth. Yeah, he mighta fucked me over once or twice...but I shoulda seen that comin'."  
Angel straddled the roach again and slowly started cutting Valentino's lower left arm off, blood wasting no time in seeping through the open cut; spurts of the red becoming more aggressive with each swift movement of the knife to stain the floor and the roach's muted blue skin.

____

Valentino's teeth ground together in absolute pain as his arm was cut into, Angel's brutality surprising even him.   
Chest heaving all the more by this point, Valentino struggled to form poison-filled words.

____

"Didn't let me see my own sister, didn't let me have friends, kept me locked away with the occasional visitor- but only if they paid ya a good amount of cash. Truth is, Vee, ya mighta been 'protecting' me..."   
He paused as a bit of blood found its way to the spider's cheek.  
"-but ya shoulda been protectin' _yourself_. It was only a matter of time before I fuckin' _snapped_."

____

As blood pooled on the floor, Angel's satisfaction only grew, moving onto Valentino's upper left arm now.  
"So tell me, Val. How do ya like your _precious Angel_ now?~"

____

The ringing in his ears from the sheer pain he was in, was what stopped Valentino from hearing the majority of Angel's words, however, he could make out bits. And those parts he could make out, he replied to.  
"Shoulda killed your fuckin' whore ass a long _long_ time ago- but you always were good at makin' money. A natural slut-"   
He coughed out, howling once again, struggling in the holds of the tentacles as Angel cut into another one of his arms.

____

This was indeed the end- Valentino had been so sure that he'd live on for a long time, feared and loved by many. However... it seemed that wasn't the case.

____

Angel couldn't help but laugh again, shaking his head.  
"Sad ya learned that a little too late, aye?"

____

He removed the daggers from the palms of the detached arms and started to work on the upper right arm now as he leaned down into Valentino's face.  
"Anything you'd like to say? Anything at all. Could be to me or to your other employees. Maybe even your precious little watchers? I don't think they'll be seein' ya again for a long while, after all~"  
The spider purred in a lowered voice, tilting his head slightly.

____

The pools of blood were growing rapidly as Valentino bled out from the removed appendages and from where his eyes used to be. Quite the ugly sight to a normal person, but this was _bliss_ for Angel Dust. For _Anthony_.   
There was so much pent up rage towards this pathetic excuse for a demon and to finally be able to take it out on him personally? Oh, he could only pray to the God he didn't believe in that this wasn't a dream.

____

Valentino was slowly growing weaker, and while of course the entirety of his vision was already dark, he knew it wouldn't be long before he passed out.

____

"You were brought down here to be someone's slut- you hear me Angel?! You'll never be _ANYTHING_ fucking more than that and no matter how hard you look for it, love doesn't exist down here!!"   
There was perhaps the tiniest hint of betrayal behind Valentino's enraged words, having been in possession of Angel for so long, but now? That meant nothing.   
The monster he'd created through years of abuse and neglect was finally getting its revenge.

____

"I stopped lookin' a long time ago baby. As soon as you got your filthy hands on me, that was it. All my hope was gone."  
Angel replied now simply tearing the arm straight off of Valentino's body, the butchered muscle tissue, flimsy strands of flesh and nerves and cracked bone not being enough to hold the limb on.

____

Of course, as his arm was violently ripped from his body, a deep cry of agony left the roach's now raw throat, what remained of his last arm, the palm clenching tightly as he ground his teeth together. 

____

"I feared your stupid ass for so long- but look at you now! I shoulda had Al kill ya the first time around. But I'm glad I didn't. This is _sooooooo_ much _better_!"  
He knew he needed to make this quick, seeing as the sleaze lord wasn't going to be making those pathetic noises for much longer.

____

Valentino, while he couldn't see Angel, certainly still could feel the spider's rage and determination to end his life right here and now. However, in his final moments, Valentino still refused to break completely.

____

Grabbing one of the daggers, Angel brought it to Valentino's mouth.  
"I sure as hell ain't gunna miss ya~"  
He stated in a seductive tone before raising the blade over his head.

____

"You'll fuckin' regret this- after _everything_ I did fo-"

____

Bringing it down into the roach's forehead with a loud crack, blood violently began to spew from the open crevice.   
Removing the blade again, Angel started to repeatedly stab the now dead demon in the head and face with loud growls, gore splattering, finding its way onto the spider's form.

____

One after another; nine strikes and Angel finally stopped, his breathing heavy and adrenaline lowering.  
He slowly raised his head towards the ceiling, closing his eyes as he felt the relief wash over his entire being.

____

Being out of the contract was one thing, but to have Valentino dead? That in itself brought a whole new level of pleasure.

____

Valentino's body now lay still, thick blood coating his towering corpse as the tentacles slowly let him loose, dissolving away.

____

____


	8. An Overlord's Soul For Love

Last time, it was just the aftermath of Angel's rage that the entirety of Hell got to witness through the eyes of the press in regards to the massacre at Mazie's. But this time? Everyone got front row seats to the final demise of Valentino, overlord of the porn industry, sleaze lord and overall piece of shit. ****

Taking down overlords was... risky business, for one. Not everyone could do it, and not everyone dared to; and when it happened? People talked about it.  
When an overlord was killed however, that meant that their soul was up for grabs- and not necessarily by the person who had done the killing. Whoever got to it first, an overlord's soul was certainly something to brag about and immediately put your name out there. ****

Angel stayed still for a few moments, eyes closed as he took in the moment and the fact that Valentino wasn't going to be a problem for him or anyone else anymore. Angel had killed the sleaze lord with his own hands. It had been the most satisfying and fantastic event to ever happen to him. Nothing was _ever_ going to top that.

He was tired now, but he wasn't going to show it. There were still things he needed to do. He needed to go find Molly and Fat Nuggets, then find a new place to live. But first, the spider needed to gather some things that would prove useful.

The spider slowly opened his eyes, keeping them up at the high ceiling for a moment longer before coming back to the present reality, eyes landing on the Radio Demon. Angel had almost forgotten he was still there, broadcasting the brutal murder of Valentino.

" _No one_ fucks with Anthony Genovese and gets away with it..."  
He muttered with a huff, wiping some of the blood off of his cheek with his sleeve as he moved to his feet, eyes practically glowing with satisfaction... and a hint of something else.

Gazing down at Valentino's body nonchalantly, Alastor brought the microphone up to his mouth, slowly speaking.   
"And that, my wonderful audience, was quite the show... I don't doubt that won't be the last we see from our star, Angel Dust... so do stay tuned."   
And with that? The broadcast ended.

Angel straightened himself out as inhaled deeply, moving from over Valentino's body and just off to the side.  
"Well, that was.... fun..."  
The spider finally sighed, starting to make his way to the elevator with bloody boot prints trailing behind.

"Nice seein' ya again, and thanks for givin' me that."  
Angel then hit the elevator button so he could go down and get the supply of pills he'd need to properly take himself off of them without the pain of withdrawal again. He knew he wouldn't make it through a second round of it.

Stepping into the small room, Angel stood quietly for a few moments, trying to remember which floor the pills were located on; his mind still quite hazy from the adrenaline still running through him.

Alastor's gaze simply followed Angel to the elevator, looking a little surprised, however simply showing that by the raising of an eyebrow.  
Before the doors could close, Alastor spoke.

"Aren't you going to take it?"   
He asked, commanding his microphone to disappear as he let his hands rest behind his back.   
"It is rightfully yours, after all. I think you should have it."

Angel almost jumped at the sound of the voice, not having expected the Radio Demon to say anything. His mind was still busy processing everything that had just happened that he'd forgotten about his trophies.

Leaving that rather open-ended, Alastor took a few steps back to look around the room, also noticing the folded up pair of heart-shaped glasses and the large red jacket adorned in fluff that was still here.   
"These as well. Did you not want them?"

"What're you talkin' about?"  
The spider asked as he slowly stepped out of the elevator again and to the throne where the coat was located.

Angel picked the heap of fluff and velvet and brushed it off a bit, some of the blood having soaked into the fabric. Throwing the coat on, Angel made his way back over to the desk with the coat dragging behind him a bit and started looking through the drawers again.

"If you're talkin' about his soul, it ain't mine. I didn't make the deal or whatever."  
The spider stated, keeping his focus away from Alastor as he pulled a cigar box out of the drawer, cut it, and used the provided lighter to light it up.

"Whether you made the deal or not, I still think you should take this one. It's not every day you take down an overlord with success."   
The deer continued on, still slowly circling the office, mainly keeping his focus on Angel as the cigar was lit, deep pink smoke filling the air around him.   
"You'll need it. Especially if you're going to be out there on your own."

And if Angel truly wasn't going to be wanting this soul, then Alastor supposed he would have to take it- not that he really needed it.   
But he would take it regardless, not wanting an overlords soul to fall into the wrong hands.

The spider looked to Alastor for a split second as he made his way back over to the throne, swiping the glasses from the desk on his way before sitting down.  
He'd have to think about that but in the meantime-

"Why don'tcha use our time wisely and give me the explanation you talked about earlier?"  
He asked, reclining back into the lavish chair as he took a puff of the cigar.   
" _Apparently_ it was important."  
He added, blowing the pink smoke up into the air in a cloud.   
It wasn't often Angel was allowed to have one of these damn things, so he planned to take them with him too.

With Angel sitting on the throne, Alastor stepped over Valentino's mangled body to perch upon the desk, arms now folding in front of him.   
"If you'll hear me out, of course. Then yes, I did have an explanation for you."   
He nodded, looking out of the large window to Hell now.   
"And, if you are listening, then I would like to start on the night that you and your sister went out."

"Start wherever you feel the need. All I got is time now."  
The spider replied simply, keeping his eyes forward.  
He could tell his emotions were going to wring his neck just from hearing whatever it was, but he felt like he'd need to hear it anyways.

Taking another drag, Angel readied himself for the impending rushing of thoughts and emotions.

Alastor simply nodded, quietening the static in his voice once he'd began to speak.   
"That night, I came here to speak with Valentino. He'd already caught my attention a couple of weeks before, however I thought nothing of it then. But that night, I decided to get his so-called 'proposition' out of the way. Whatever he had to say, I was sure that I was going to be interested."   
The deer slowly began, taking a breath before continuing.

"Of course, his proposition involved me handing you over, and while I know I had no right to do so, I suppose I was suddenly swayed by the conditions he foolishly gave me. Absolutely none, aside from waiting twenty days for him to make his end of the deal. With that opportunity, Angel, I couldn't say no. He gave me the chance to take anything I wanted, and for the pathetic roach, that was unfortunately his undoing. I was going to kill him and his end of the deal would be his soul. There wouldn't have been anything he could have done about it either... I did this so he wouldn't be able to haunt you anymore, my dear. I know he was causing you grief without even being around, and I wanted that to end for you."

There was a moment of silence, Alastor hoping that he'd selected his words carefully.   
"I'm sure you're probably wondering why I didn't just kill Valentino whenever. It's not as easy as that. There are, unfortunately, some rules. And perhaps you're wondering if I _ever_ loved you... and the answer to that is, of course I did. And, Anthony, I still do. The past twenty days have been nothing but unfamiliar grief and regret for me as well. What I did is inexcusable and unforgivable. But Valentino is dead now, and if you truly wish to, you never have to see me again."

Angel listened, however, whether he believed what Alastor saying was to be determined.   
His jaw clenched, breath caught, and eyes closed to help fight back the tears as his real name was spilled. He missed the sound of it rolling off of Alastor's tongue.

Turning his head away, Angel took another drag of the cigar, holding the smoke for a few seconds as he tried to figure out what to say.   
By the sounds of it, Alastor's heart was in the right place and his explanation did sort of check out.  
"I didn't know he made a move in the first place... why didn't you tell me about that?"   
Angel's eyes finally opened again as he looked over towards the Radio Demon, eyes glossy and filled with tears, but he made sure to keep his voice strong.

Alastor shrugged a moment, unsure himself why he didn't mention it to Angel before.   
"I think... it was during the worst parts of your withdraw. I didn't want to add any more stress to your plate and was sure that nothing was going to come from it, however my judgment was rather poor it seems."

Gaze meeting Angel's, seeing the way his mismatched eyes glossed over had Alastor feeling still rather guilty, like all of this was because of him.

This spider kept a firm and emotionless expression, looking back to Valentino's corpse with a shake of his head.  
"You should've told me anyway. Doesn't matter now though. It's over and done with."  
He stated simply before standing from the throne and moved over to the body.

"How do I do this?"  
He asked sheepishly. He'd never seen a soul before, let alone extract one.

Alastor didn't know whether Angel actually believed him or not. While the spider looked visibly torn over something, his poker face was otherwise quite impressive.  
However, as Angel moved over to the body of Valentino, Alastor nodded, slightly relieved as the spider asked about taking a soul.

"Cut open the chest and the soul will rise."   
Alastor instructed, motioning to one of the daggers that Angel had been using for the roach's torture earlier.   
"After that, you'll have to be quick in consuming."

Angel knelt down and grabbed one of the blades.  
"You mean... I have to _eat_ it?"  
That was unsettling. Eating a part of Valentino; his very essence of being. He could only hope that it wouldn't taste like utter shit, assuming that your soul would taste of the kind of demon you were.

Now hesitant, Angel weighed the pros and cons of the situation; all of which were only guesses. He didn't know what any of this was. He knew overlords would collect souls, but he didn't know anything more than that; things like where they kept them or what the benefits were aside from the increased fear from others. He didn't even know what they looked like.

He didn't want to look like a pussy though, so he knelt down and brought the knife to Valentino's muted blue skin, pausing as he began to think a little more.

Alastor stood from where he was perched on the desk, pacing around Valentino's body, looking down at it with narrowed eyes.   
"Yes, you have to eat it- don't worry, souls are rather delectable."   
He chuckled, eyes closely followed the knife as it was brought to Valentino's chest.

"Consuming an overlord's soul provides the consumer with the ability to create both contracts and deals with another. Not only that, but with every soul gained, you'll rise in power. While regular demon souls do not provide anything apart from satisfaction, fellow overlords often provide... abilities unique to the demon that has been killed."   
He explained calmly, eyes narrowing a little more, waiting for the knife to be pressed into the chest.

Angel stopped.  
"If it's gunna make me anything like him, I don't want it."  
He stated simply, again, fighting the tears in his eyes.

"Fuck-"  
The arachnid huffed, pulling the knife away and put his upper set of hands atop his head as he curled up a bit.  
"...I don't wanna be like him... I-"  
Angel couldn't voice his thoughts. There were too many at once.

Alastor paused a moment, lips pursing a moment at Angel's words.   
"My dear- no."   
He began, about to reach a hand out to him, however thinking better of it, his hand quickly lowering.   
"No matter what, you'll _never_ be like him. Souls don't make you similar to them at all. You're still your own person."

He could somewhat understand Angel's concerns, however, he knew that Valentino and Angel were nothing alike. Valentino was everything bad, and Angel? Well, in Alastor's eyes, Angel was the complete opposite.

Angel held his breath, fighting every emotion back as best as he could. He really didn't even know who he was at this point. Everything was starting to hit him now that everything had calmed down.

Keeping his head down, Angel used his lower set of hands to cover his eyes just in case anything leaked from his eyes.  
He knew he needed to do this.

Inhaling, the spider wiped his eyes and brought the dagger down into Valentino's chest. There would be plenty of time to cry over this bullshit later. He didn't want Alastor to see him weak again.   
Bringing the sharp metal down the roach's sternum, blood pouring from the deep incision as it widened, Angel's jaw clenched as an orb of dark pink- almost black light the size of his palm revealed itself.   
Digging his hand into the chest cavity, Angel grabbed it and examined it a bit before putting it into his mouth, taking what Alastor had said into account.   
It was weightless, but as he bit into it, the soul popped and gushed.   
The Radio Demon was right about one thing. It really was delicious. A flavor Angel couldn't describe; but it was... familiar.

Alastor watched in silence as Angel sliced into Valentino's chest, the familiar sight of a soul being pulled out before Angel was chewing.

Upon swallowing, he felt something in his stomach that began to spread through his entire body as goosebumps formed and his fur fluffed itself for a moment. The spider's body visibly glowing a faint pink color.   
And now? Angel Dust was one step closer to becoming an overlord of Hell himself.

The spider couldn't stop a few tears from rolling down his cheeks. After a bit of processing, he knew exactly what it tasted like; and that's what brought him over. His favorite thing he'd ever eaten.   
Why it tasted like that, Angel hadn't the faintest clue, but if this is what every soul was going to taste like, he was going to avoid eating them as much as possible.

"Delicious, is it not?"   
Alastor hummed, noticing the look of surprised satisfaction on Angel's face as he ate the soul.

With a bit of a nod, Angel stood again, leaving Valentino's body as it was. He needed to leave. He needed to get some more pills and leave the building.

"It's... great- but I gotta go..."  
He replied, wiping his eyes again as he grabbed the pink heart-shaped glasses and the box of cigars before going over to the elevator again.

"Angel, wait-"   
Alastor quickly called upon seeing the spider hastily making his exit towards the elevator.

Sure, the deer had explained pretty much all that had happened, however, there was still one thing that Alastor had yet to get an answer to.

"You didn't tell me."   
He paused, slowly walking towards the elevator as well, brushing past Valentino's body on the floor.   
"Anthony, my feelings for you still stand. And... I wish to rekindle what we had- of course I know that will take time in terms of healing, but I'm willing to wait even ten lifetimes if I have to. Will you let me?"

Angel's jaw clenched, forcing himself to keep himself held high despite his crumbling state. Hearing Alastor say his name didn't help that either.

"I can't give you an answer right now... I need to take a walk and clear my head or somethin'. I know where to find ya when I have an answer. Gotta pick up my shit either way."  
With that, Angel hit the button for the basement floor and the doors shut him in the small room, leaving Alastor alone as well.

Nothing more, on Alastor's part, could be said, so he simply nodded in understanding. Having just got out of the control of Valentino, Angel hadn't even had any time to think for himself yet, so perhaps he did need a little time. And as Alastor had said, he'd wait however long it would need to take.

As the elevator doors closed, the deer slowly sighed, taking a few steps backward, simply staring down at Valentino's body, some of the blood starting to dry around his mangled mouth.

"Well... you finally lost."   
He slowly spoke with a small smile, summoning his microphone to lean upon it.  
  


Upon making it to the basement, Angel made his way down the stretched hallway and pulled out the key he'd grabbed from the desk in Valentino's office, using it to unlock the door at the end.  
Pushing the door open, he was greeted by shattered contracts that had broken upon Valentino's death.

Angel didn't waste any time, gathering three large bottles of the dreaded pills and made his way to the ground floor where he then made his way out to the streets.   
It was oddly quiet out and even in the building... but that was probably because of the events that had just occurred with Valentino. No one was about to get in the way of the one who brutally murdered an overlord that had been in power for so long.  
It was perfect though. He didn't want anyone around anyways.

As the spider walked through the darkened streets, it wasn't for a while that a noise rung out all throughout Pentagram City.

The bell tower in the middle of the city gave one chime after another three times, signaling three in the morning.

Once a year this event occurred and everyone took cover, explaining why everyone was likely inside, hiding away.

Angel's eyes widened slightly as the realization hit him. He'd been so preoccupied and unable to check the dates that it didn't cross his mind.

As the arachnid's mismatched eyes trailed up to the sky, it was confirmed. Beings in uniforms with masks covering their faces and wings stretched out began their scheduled descent to Hell.

The extermination.


	9. Merciful Angel

As soon as the final chime officially faded out, Angel got up the nerve to start looking for a place to hide, however, he was stopped in his tracks as angelic being after angelic being landed on the concrete streets and on buildings that surrounded him.

Quickly turning into a twisted alleyway, the spider made his way deeper into the city and to a completely new section, the coat that draped over his form flowing behind him as he ran. The likelihood of a door or window to be unlocked was next to none, and a lot of the windows were unbreakable glass, so there was no point in struggling and wasting valuable time with that nonsense.

This wasn't at all what he needed; to be killed off just as he regained his freedom back. The timing for all of this couldn't have been worse.

Angel kept running, looking behind him as he saw the exterminators continue to rain down from the sky above, only to be suddenly stopped as one of the masked beings landed right in front of him, causing the spider to run into them at full speed.

This angel was strong and unmoved as Angel fell back into the pavement, eyes wide as he looked to the being as they raised their angelic spear to him.

Angel's breath became heavier as he tried to stumble away from the masked being; the coat causing him issues as it restricted his movement.  
"Wait-"  
The arachnid pleaded, continuing to shuffle back, the exterminator quick to follow, its weapon still raised.

"You don't understand, please wait!!"  
Angel cried out, not expecting it to work at all.  
But, to everyone's surprise, it did.

The exterminator was about to make the strike but tensed and stopped as soon as the arachnid made his plea, slowly yet hesitantly lowering their weapon and their wings.

Angel, now holding a set of arms up to shield his face, was expecting the hit to happen already; but when it didn't come, his eyes slowly opened again as he looked up at the masked being, his chest rising and falling rapidly with his heavy and labored breathing.

"Anthony...?"  
The being questioned with a distorted voice thanks to the mask, as they took another small step forward, their head tilted to the side.

"W-Who wants t'know?"  
He questioned through breaths, his attempts to get away seeming to come to a stop.

Without another word, the exterminator brought a hand up to their face and started to pull the mask free.   
There, in front of Angel, stood a familiar face accompanied by well-groomed brunette hair and shining hazel eyes that were filled with a mix of different emotions.  
"James..."  
The being stated, dropping his weapon.

Angel blinked a few times, processing the unbelievable bullshit that had just unfolded.   
"James?"  
He repeated, eyes starting to fill with a different kind of tears. Ones of pain as memories began running through his mind. Seeing this man's face again bringing all of the lost and forgotten feelings back.

James gave a slow nod, stepping closer as he held a hand out to the spider, who hesitantly took it, and pulled him up. 

"James I'm so sorry I-"

"Anthony, please. There isn't much time. Just know I forgive you for everything. It wasn't your fault. Please, do not blame yourself."

Angel was quick to wrap his arms around his first fallen love, being careful of the wings on his back as tears streamed down his cheeks.

James was quick to follow, embracing the spider.  
"Our time was short, and I know everything now. I've known since the day I died that nothing was fair for you. I'm not upset nor mad."

"Please... please don't let me go-"   
Angel continued.

"I must. I wasn't supposed to show any hesitation in the first place, Anthony. Please understand that I am saving you."  
James explained, having to pull Angel off of him.

"Please don't leave me here, James. Please!"  
The arachnid sobbed, doing his best to cling to the familiar angelic being.

"Please, Anthony. Remember that I loved you and I forgive you for everything. None of it was your fault. Now go. Please, Anthony. Go."  
James explained again, his voice soft and caring despite the events unfolding in the near distance. There were no hints of any negative emotion in his words or voice as he carefully removed Angel and put his mask back on before picking up his weapon.   
His wings opened and with a single beat of the pure white feathers, he left the arachnid behind to cause chaos elsewhere, looking back only once.

***

Over the past few weeks, while Alastor had been trying his hardest to fulfill all that was asked of him as the ruler of Hell, with everything that had been happening in terms of Angel, those duties of his had been kind of... put to the side. Alastor himself had even forgotten the upcoming extermination.

It was only as he was leaving the porn studios shortly after Angel, that the strangely quiet and desolate streets of Hell began to raise alarm bells in his mind.   
In a situation like this, usually Alastor would simply materialize home, nothing having to get messy... however a grave feeling suddenly began to settle in the pit of the deer's stomach. Angel was still out there somewhere, and heaven's angels were known to show no mercy, no matter who you were. A demon was a demon in their eyes.

Upon looking up to the sky, Alastor's eyes widened. They were already here.

Alastor wasn't sure what direction Angel had gone in, but that didn't matter. He _would_ find him.   
Materialising down every street and side street, his smile stayed wide, yet his panic was evident in his eyes as he frantically looked up and down every street he appeared down.   
Nothing so far.   
Surely Angel hadn't gotten that far in the span of a couple of minutes? Perhaps he'd found somewhere to hide.

The fact that an angel might have already found the spider didn't quite register within Alastor's mind, not even as he appeared down a twisted and badly lit alleyway, a wave of relief washing over him as he spotted Angel.   
However, it seemed he was... crying?   
Not only that, but there was the clear outline of an angel in the sky, but strangely it was flying away from the arachnid.   
Whatever had happened, Angel had no time to explain himself here.

"My dear, we must leave."   
Alastor quickly spoke up, not bothering to announce his presence to Angel as he reached out for him, taking one of his arms and immediately disappearing with him.

Angel was too wrapped up in grief to have noticed Alastor. The spider fought for only a moment as he reached towards the angel that had just left him, weakly trying to leave Alastor's grasp.

"No, please!!"  
Angel pleaded but was cut short as he found himself out of the street in an instant and in familiar surroundings that he'd been away from for quite some time.

Collapsing onto the floor, the spider covered his eyes as he continued to sob nonsense, hunching forward with his lower set of arms wrapped around himself. 

The moment they appeared in the lounge of the Radio Demon's home, Alastor took a small step back from Angel, quickly kneeling and looking him over for any injuries, however that was fairly difficult considering that the spider was still covered in blood from Valentino's torture.

The arachnid didn't take Alastor's presence into account at all. He didn't care about anything aside from who he'd just encountered after so long, and knowing he would never see him again after that; the few words exchanged between them echoing in his head.

Whether Angel was simply upset, in pain or both, Alastor wasn't so sure. But if there was one thing he was sure about, was that he was going to be there for the spider- regardless of whether Angel wanted him to be or not.   
But at the same time, Alastor didn't want to invade the other's personal space too much.   
"My dear... breathe for me, okay? I don't know what happened, but you're safe here."   
He supposed reassurance was all that he could do.

Angel opened his eyes, vision blurred from the tears as he looked to Alastor.  
"Why the _fuck_ did he have to leave me?!"  
He sobbed out, grabbing the lapels of Alastor's coat.  
"Why'd he leave me here?!"

Alastor was slightly taken back as the front of his coat was grabbed, Angel spewing out words that not even Alastor could make any sense of.

"Fucking _why?_ "  
The spider sniffed, his head lowering as his crying became a little quieter, the sound of screams within the city could be heard now as the extermination moved into full swing in the distance.

"What? Who left you?"   
He frowned, unsure who exactly Angel was talking about and, well, why.

Reaching into the front pocket of his coat, Alastor pulled out a handkerchief, handing it over to Angel to dry the streams of tears that rolled down his cheeks.   
"Anthony, come and sit down. You look exhausted my dear."

Angel shook his head, wanting to lash out but Alastor was right. He _was_ exhausted.

"James! James left me here to fucking suffer! He could have taken it all away! He could have taken _me_ away... but he chose to leave me here..."  
Those words only hit him harder, the streams becoming heavier and thicker as his grip on the deer's clothes loosened to the point his hands dropped into his lap.  
"Why'd he go...?"

Alastor's eyes widened for a split second upon hearing the person Angel was talking about, however that initial shock quickly turned to confusion, the deer frowning.   
He still was unsure exactly what had happened.

"Anthony, he didn't purposely leave you- he had no choice."   
Going off of the circumstances of the death of James that Angel had previously spoken about, Alastor reached a hand out for Angel.   
"Perhaps if you get some rest, you can think more about it when you wake up?"

Angel's form began to shake, looking down at his upper set of hands.  
"He had the perfect fuckin' chance to get his revenge and kill me... unless leavin' me here was his way of revenge- make me suffer as much as I did to him all those god damn years ago."

Pushing the velvet coat off of himself, Angel then stumbled to his feet and started making his way back to the door, his vision was still blurred so he was running into things on his way.  
"I don't want this anymore! If he won't do it, I'll find another fuckin' angel with a pair of fuckin' balls."

And finally, it seemed to click in Alastor's mind what exactly might have just happened. But there was no way, surely?   
Slowly standing, watching Angel as he began to stumble towards the door, Alastor simply sighed, teleporting himself in front of the door.   
"Anthony, no."   
He stated firmly, chin raising despite all four of Angel's hands slamming against the door on either side of him.

"I imagine that James leaving you here tonight was not punishment in any way. He was saving you. All angels, as foolishly perfect as they are, probably do not even understand the concept of revenge. I will not allow you to throw your second chance at some sort of life away so quickly."

"Alastor, get your ass outta my way. I don't get why you even care in the first fuckin' place. You gave me back and didn't even tell me about any of it, not even thinkin' about how _I'd_ feel and just goin' with your own _selfish_ needs. I just- I don't care anymore, Al! I'm sick of bein' played and used! I have thoughts and feelings like everyone else! I ain't a fuckin' toy!"  
The level of Angel's emotions becoming more intense again as the recollection of those events now coming to mind.  
"Nothing matters to me anymore, okay!?"

It was difficult, hearing Angel saying all of that, but he was right. Everything that Alastor had done was selfish and cruel- he'd done exactly as all the people who had hurt Angel in his life and death had. Let him down.

The deer paused for a moment, gaze falling down to the floor- yet he didn't move. Angel was not going to walk out that door.   
"Nothing may matter to you anymore... but to me? Hurting you was _the biggest_ mistake of my _entire_ existence. I didn't mean to hurt you and of all of the people who have hurt you in your life... I suppose I'm probably the first to feel incredibly guilty for what I did to you. This matters to me, Anthony."

Angel straightened himself up and turned on his heels suddenly.  
"Don't call me that anymore. You lost the right the moment you made that deal."  
He ground out bitterly before marching his way up the stairs and into his old bedroom. Everything was still as he'd left it the night he and Molly had gone out.

Alastor still stood his ground until the very moment that Angel was out of the room and heading upstairs, the deer's body sighing heavily, eyes closing for just a brief moment. He too was exhausted but would stay up all night if it meant that Angel was safe.

If Alastor thought he'd been confused then, then now he wasn't even sure what to think anymore. Things had changed over the span of a few small weeks, and it was an unfamiliar change for the Radio Demon.

Shoulders slumping forwards, Alastor tiredly sat down in his armchair, bringing a palm to his forehead to rest upon as he closed his eyes briefly in thought. After all, there was still a lot for him to think about.

Grabbing a few things, Angel left his bedroom and went into the bathroom to start washing the blood off of himself. It had probably stained his fur already, but it didn't matter. He wasn't trying to impress anyone anymore. There wasn't a point to anything he did.

The spider's thoughts weren't making sense, clouded with both confusion and hurt. He really needed to calm down and hoped that the shower would do just that so he could come up with an idea as to what he was going to do with himself now.

Angel was in the shower until long after it ran cold, doing everything he could to calm himself from the events of only a few hours.   
This was all so confusing and frustrating. He didn't know who or what to believe.

Alastor saying he still cared for him and loved him, James sparing his pathetic life and telling him he loved him and forgave him- what _was_ bullshit and what _wasn't?_

Finally shutting the water off, Angel grabbed his towel and dried off, going back to his room to get dressed and probably lay down on the floor seeing as there still wasn't a mattress.

Putting his boots on and some comfy clothes that were left since his leave, Angel sat himself down on the floor and sighed, curling up slightly with his back against the door. This was too much for him to handle...

It must have been around an hour that Alastor was sat in his chair in the lounge, his own thoughts still plaguing his mind.   
Eventually though, the deer stood and made his way into the kitchen, preparing both himself and Angel some warm tea. Whether Angel accepted the gesture or not, Alastor didn't care.

Slowly making his way up the stairs with the spider's drink in hand, Alastor noticed the bathroom door was open and there was no sound of water running. Angel must have finished showering.   
Moving over to the closed bedroom door, Alastor knocked twice, stepping back.

"May I come in?"   
He asked slowly, frowning as he remembered that the bed in the room was void of a mattress still.

Angel, staring blankly at the wall with glossy eyes, blinked at the sound of the knocks.  
"I don't care..."  
He sighed quietly, keeping his back against the door.

No, the floor wasn't the most comfortable resting place, but the arachnid wasn't about to leave his room and ask for anything. Not a pillow, not a blanket, nothing.

Sighing in response to Angel's rather blank reply, Alastor tried the door, however, it seemed that Angel was sitting in front of it.   
Shaking his head, Alastor quickly materialized in the bedroom, carefully offering Angel the drink. The spider too looked exhausted, broken and overall sad.

"You know... whatever's going on in your head right now, you don't have to figure it out right away."   
Alastor started slowly.

Angel didn't move; showing no sign that he would be moving anytime soon either. His blank stare slowly moved towards the cup but moved back to the wall again, Alastor taking the hint and set the drink on the nightstand.

"I want to though... I want it out. I want it all gone..."  
Angel replied softly, voice tired and now void of emotion.   
He'd felt so much to the point he was numb now with the exception of sadness; but even that was just a faint and distant thing.

"I know you do, but these things take time, my dear."   
Alastor explained, snapping his fingers as a familiar pink fluffy blanket appeared and draped itself around Angel's shoulders.   
"Perhaps you should sleep on it. I don't suppose resting on the bare floor is the most comfortable, so you may take my room if you wish. I shall be in the basement regardless."

It was clear that Angel perhaps needed his space, and Alastor didn't want to invade that at all. He wanted to rekindle what he had with Angel, so he supposed that pushing things too quickly wasn't the best of ideas.

"I'll... think about it..."  
Was all Angel could reply with.  
He wasn't sure if he'd be able to physically move, but he'd try if he was ready to.   
The thought of a bed in itself was so nice though. He hadn't slept in what felt like ages and in a bed? Forget about it.  
He only slept on Valentino's couch when the roach wasn't around during his time there.   
There was the one exception, but that was it. Angel was careful not to let it happen again.

"Well, whether you do or not, if you need anything at all, just call for me."   
Alastor smiled softly down at the spider before slowly stepping away, teleporting down to the basement.   
As he said before, he would give Angel as much space as was needed.

The spider stayed where he was for a few minutes, trying to decide what he was to do now.   
He supposed Alastor was trustworthy in not taking advantage of him while he stayed in his bed. The deer hadn't done anything of the sort in the past.

Taking a breath, Angel slowly started to lift himself off of the floor, leaving the cup of tea on the nightstand. He opened the door, slowly made his way down the hall to Alastor's room and slowly crawled into the blankets.

This was heaven. The bed itself was as comfortable and warm as it had always been, the familiar scent that he learned to love so much surrounded him and brought him a lot of comfort.   
It was as if Alastor was holding him and keeping him safe without actually touching him or even being in the same room.

The spider missed this so much and it brought tears to his eyes again. The trust and love he had for the Radio Demon had been shattered... but it was still there. Barely. It was going to take him a long while before things would go back to the way they were, and if Alastor was really willing to wait, Angel might let it happen.

Hugging the second pillow, the arachnid buried his face into it as the blankets hugged him. 

Screams could still be heard as the extermination took place in the near distance. They happened every year on Easter; the day that represented new beginnings. Hell was no exception to that, eradicating demons left, right and center to make room for new demons, starting at exactly three a.m. and running until nine a.m. like clockwork.

Angel's exhaustion took over him and didn't leave him crying for very long, sleep graciously sweeping the spider off of his feet.


	10. A Sibling's Advice

Four days passed by in a flash, the news and media in general still absolutely buzzing about Valentino's death. With no one to run the porn industry, it seemed that the demons who were closest to Valentino had that suddenly thrown at them, and with it a lot of work.

Angels Dust's name was constantly being thrown around the media, reporters from all across the pentagram attempting to contact the spider for even so much as a word, but of course, they got nothing.

In those few days, Alastor had been watching over Angel as best he could while still giving him the space the arachnid seemed to want.   
Occasionally, the deer would bring food and drink up for the arachnid, however, the majority of the time, the food was left pretty much untouched. Alastor supposed at least Angel hadn't tried to leave at all in his very fragile mental and physical state.

The Radio Demon had been out the majority of the day, leaving Angel in the house. He'd only recently returned and had sat himself down when a loud and rapid knock at the door came.   
While out, he had been bombarded by a fair few passerby demons wondering about the death of Valentino, what the deer's relationship really was with Angel, considering the two had been noticeably causing chaos together for a while now and where the arachnid was now.   
All of those questions, Alastor ignored.

Slowly standing, Alastor teleported to the door, eyes narrowing as it opened. If it was any sort of reporter or trouble maker asking questions, Alastor was in no mood to show any mercy.  
However, the demon that stood before him was not what Alastor had been expecting. Especially not after the state she'd left him in a couple of weeks ago. 

"Molly?"

Molly had been worried sick about her brother, having seen the live broadcast and reports scaring her all the more. She'd tried contacting Angel but to only be greeted by a full voicemail.

She could only hope now that Alastor knew where he was, seeing as he was the last demon to see him since the broadcast. She still resented the man for what he did, but he was the only one with insight.

" _Where_ is my brother? You were the last one to see him."  
She asked firmly, eyes sharp as she glared at the Radio Demon in front of her. She wasn't going to barge inside this time, not having the time nor the patience to do so unless he actually had information of use to her.  
From what she could see, Alastor looked tired due to the small bags under his eyes and drained smile.

It was no surprise what Molly was here for, however, Alastor just had not been expecting the unexpected visit.   
Still, his smile stayed wide, the door opening a little further.

"Why, I do believe that your dear brother is upstairs as we speak! You may visit him if you wish."   
Stepping aside for the spider to go in, Alastor simply smiled.   
"Perhaps if he speaks with you, he'll be in a better state of mind, shall we say."

Molly didn't waste any time, quickly stepping inside and made her way upstairs, remembering where her brother's room was.   
"Anthony!"  
She called.  
"Anthony please tell me your okay-"  
Her words faltered as she made it to his bedroom and saw he wasn't there.

Looking down the hallway at the door she knew to be Alastor's room, she made her way over. The female spider didn't care about any rules Alastor might have had in place. She needed to know Angel was really there and well.

Alastor knew that Molly would be entering his room, something that wasn't usually permitted, however, the deer knew the spider couldn't do any harm with the knowledge of what was inside.   
He just hoped that Molly would be able to help Angel in some sort of way.

Making his way back into the lounge, Alastor took a seat in his usual chair, leaving the two spiders to their conversation upstairs. He figured that neither of them would want him up there, the deer not exactly on either of their good sides he supposed.

Upon pushing the door open, she scanned the room for a moment before finding the bed with Angel laying in it.  
"Tony, thank god!!"  
She exclaimed, rushing over.

Angel slowly looked towards the visitor and gave a very small smile.  
"Hey Hug Drug..."  
He whispered as he was quickly embraced, slowly wrapping his arms around his sister in return.   
This was the first time he'd been touched since arriving back and he had to admit- it was nice.

"I'm okay, don't worry..."  
He stated with a hint of sadness in his words.   
"How are _you_ though? How's Nuggets?"

Angel wasn't sure he wanted to jump right into a conversation about himself. He wanted to make sure Molly was doing okay too.   
The spider was happy to see her and the worry clear in her words really meant a lot to him; to know she still cared even after everything that happened.

Molly hugged her brother for a while, feeling herself start to well up at the mere sound of her brother's voice.   
"I never thought you'd get out-"   
She spoke softly, completely disregarding her brother's question about herself and Fat Nuggets.   
"I didn't know whether to blame myself, Al or... Valentino. I was so so angry, Tony."

Slowly pulling away from the embrace, not letting go of one of Angel's hands, Molly sat herself down on the soft bed, letting out a long sigh, being able to tell that perhaps her brother didn't want to move onto that topic just yet.

"Anyways... yeah, Nugs is fine. I'm also... fine."   
She sighed out again, running a hand through her hair.

Angel sat up and crossed his legs from under the blankets, hunching forward a bit.  
He wasn't sure how he felt about her small confession but was glad she moved past it for now.  
"Ya don't sound so sure about that. What's been goin' on aside from the bullshit involving me? Or is it all because of me-?"  
He questioned, feeling guilty about having worried her so much.

Molly just shook her head, shuffling back on the bed so that she was beside her brother now.   
"No no, it ain't because of you. Just me and my dumb brain."   
She laughed softly, however it wasn't completely genuine.

"I heard you showed up..."

She laughed again at Angel's comment, sheepishly nodding a bit.   
"Oh, ya heard about that one, huh? Everything I did to Al, he fuckin' deserved. I don't regret beatin' him up a lil. It was for you."

"Wait... you beat him up? That's not what I was talkin' about-"  
Angel raised a brow, looking to his sister as she was now beside him.   
"I was talkin' about you showin' up to the studio."  
He stated with a bit of a laugh that quickly faded as he remembered the consequences of her actions, which he wasn't going to voice because he didn't want her to beat herself up even more over all of that.

Molly, as she realized what Angel had actually been talking about, brought a hand to her mouth with a snort, laughing a little.   
"Oh god- yeah. I showed up both here _and_ there, kinda pissed off for obvious reasons."   
She laughed, remembering the satisfaction she got out of beating Alastor up- not so much from Valentino.  
"I didn't get too far with the studios unfortunately. But, uh, luckily I had somewhere to go to calm down. Daddy and Frankie didn't give two shits, and I was just real mad."

"That's somethin' ya should've seen happenin' though. I'm glad ya beat Al up on my behalf. I still have to get the motivation to do it myself, honestly..."

Now that they were talking, Angel was starting to feel the need to tell Molly about everything that was going on in his mind. He still had to check up on the news and such, but he needed to get a new phone before he could do that.

"I haven't left this bed since I got back. Too much happened that I'm still tryna process..."

"Oh, well, when ya do, record it for me! I'd love to see that asshole get what's coming to him again. Speaking of... why are you even here? He hurt you, Tony."   
She began, pausing for a moment as her brother mentioned not having left the bed in a couple of days.

Angel started playing with the blanket that covered him, looking down.  
"I know he hurt me... it's just-"  
He paused with a sigh, wondering if he was really ready to confess this, and to his sister no less. He knew she felt just as betrayed as he did.

"I still love him... and he says he still loves me. He did all that shit just to take that asshole out once and for all... he let me take Valentino's soul even though I wasn't the one who made the deal. And he's been tryna feed me and shit, makin' sure I'm okay..."

Molly just shook her head, gaze falling to the floor slightly. She understood that two people who were deeply in love couldn't just fall out of love in the short span of a few weeks, however after everything that had happened to Angel as a result of Alastor's selfishness? Molly was certainly skeptical.   
"Tony, you know I'm all for the men you fall for, but Alastor's bad news. He hurt ya once before and I don't wanna see my brother gettin' hurt again. Once, in my opinion, is one time too many."

"After what happened with the extermination-..."  
He stopped himself, voice cracking a bit.

At her brother's voice crack, as he mentioned the extermination that had happened a few days prior, Molly raised a brow.   
"What happened then? That was the night you finally escaped, right? What happened?"

Angel took a breath and shook his head, hugging himself as he usually would.  
"I-... James let me go..."  
He stated quietly.  
"I was leavin' the studio and didn't realize what day it was so I got caught almost in the middle of it. I ran into James, Molly. He told me he loved me and forgave me... but he didn't say much more than that.."  
Tears found his eyes again. The thought of it all just hurt too much.

Molly's eyes widened all the more, a small gasp escaping her lips before she brought a hand to her mouth again.   
"W-what? ...Oh, Tony..."   
Immediately, she brought Angel in for another tight embrace, feeling herself welling up again at the mere mention of James. She may not have been as close to him as Angel was, but she knew he and loved him a hell of a lot.

"I'm so sorry... just... just remember that this ain't your fault. James musta saved you or somethin', cause I don't think I know angels to be all that forgiving to us folks down here."   
She sniffed, still holding her brother, gently patting his back.

Angel shook his head again, stifling a small laugh.  
"It was my fault though. He died because I was selfish and was only thinkin' of my damn self. I knew the danger we both were in because of it and he never found out about what I actually was o-or... or even had the cha-chance to finish his fuckin' sentence. Your death was my fault too. Mamma's death was my fault even though I couldn't control it. I'm to blame for a lotta the shit that happened."  
He started to cry into his hands, leaning into his sister.

This brought back a lot of memories from when they were alive. This would often happen, but it would only be about their mother at the time.

"I deserve everything that happened to me. I _deserve_ to be _hurt_. I just wish James had the balls to off me instead of fuckin' forgivin' me and leavin' me in the street."

For Molly too, this brought back so many memories. Memories of when Angel was going a rough patch at home when alive and Molly was the only one he could turn to, let alone the only one who would listen to him without judgment being pressed on him.

"I can see this is really gettin' to ya."   
She hushed, still gently patting her brother's back, letting him cry into her shoulder just as they'd done so many times before.   
"Just know that I know for a fact, that James wouldn't and doesn't blame you for a thing. And neither do I. I never blamed ya for a single second."

She sat there comforting her brother for a couple of moments more.   
"Mamma's death had nothin' to do with you, with me or with anyone... it just happened to be her time."   
Her own voice was a little quieter as she discussed their mother that they never knew.   
"I've told ya that a million times, and I'll keep doin' that as many times as I haveta."

Angel couldn't help but weep. All of this was really hard to comprehend and accept, but having Molly there to comfort him really did help. She'd always been able to bring him back and help him see to reason.

"I just don't get it... I don't know why any of this is happening. Taking Valentino down was fucking great but then Al and James happened and it's all just dogpiling right on top of me."  
He inhaled and sat upright again.  
"I love James and I thought I moved on, but him showing up the way he did and then Al sayin' everythin' he did- I dunno what to do. I still love Al but I don't think it'll ever be the same. I dunno if all this is me or those stupid pills I'm back on."

Angel wiped his eyes, taking a small pause.  
"I dunno what to do anymore. I don't know what I'm _supposed_ to do. I don't wanna move. I don't wanna feel. I wanna go get fucked up but that requires leaving this bed... what should I do?"

Molly slowly pulled away from the embrace, slowly shaking her head again as her gaze fell down to her lap.   
"Slow down a lil Tony, yeesh. At this rate, no wonder ya heads all over the place, hah."   
She laughed a little, trying to take her brother's mind off of all of this a moment.

She wasn't wrong either. Angel's mind was constantly like a runaway train with a thousand passengers all doing drugs of all kinds, screaming and going absolutely insane.

"Y'know what I do when I get upset or my head gets to be too much for me? I think about some of the great memories we had together as kids. I really do."   
She smiled warmly, taking two of Angel's hands in two of her own now. 

"Remember when Frankie used to bully ya awfully bad and I came in to beat him up for it? We'd get into scraps n' Daddy had to come in and split us up. It was always so funny seein' Daddy tell Frankie off for apparently startin' shit."

Angel huffed and gave a laugh, using his shoulder to wipe his cheek.   
"Yeah, I do remember that. Kinda funny when you'd kick 'im in the junk and he'd do his damn best not to fuckin' bawl like a bitch. Dad even watched ya do it a couple of times and he still got the heat."

For the first time in a long while, Angel had a genuine smile pulling at the corners of his mouth that he didn't try to fight off. Those were some good memories they had.

Upon seeing her brother's smile, Molly's face instantly lit up as well.   
"There he is! There's Rigatoni's good ol' smile."   
She giggled, nodding as the other reminded her of some of the good memories they shared during their life all those years ago.

"Oh, and remember the one time when Dad was actually in a good mood and put music on? Fuck, we all danced around for _hours_. Frank looked pissed as ever through it all, 'course."  
He laughed again, this one a little louder and went on a little longer.   
"And when I nailed Frank's shoes to the floor that one time. God, Dad was _so_ pissed."  
His laughter continued as he shook his head.  
This really was working. He always admired how great Molly was at distracting him.   
Angel could only wish he could have had her around sooner.

"You nailed his shoes there and he still put his feet in them, tryna walk away-"   
Practically wheezing at this point, Molly had to wipe tears of her own away from the corners of her eyes, however, they were only ones of happiness.

"And that one time I got pissed as shit when Frankie ratted me out for sneakin' outta my window so I cut some of my own hair and said that Frankie yanked it out- oh fuck, you'd _never_ seen Daddy so angry in his goddamn _life._ The perfect revenge."

"And that one time we were playin' darts and- I can't remember _exactly_ what happened but Frank ended up with a fuckin' dart in the side of his head."  
Angel shook his head, wiping his eyes again.   
"So much bullshit, oh my god."

There were a lot of good memories that were now flooding his mind as he pushed back the recent bad things along with the consequences of what happened all that time ago.

Angel could barely contain his cackling fit.  
"I almost feel bad for him- bet he didn't even get married or anything."  
He breathed, leaning back against the headboard.

Molly just continued to laugh, her side in pain and tears clouding her vision from these heartwarming yet hilarious memories being brought up.

"Yeah- Frankie's not married or anythin'. I ain't even surprised cause he barely leaves Daddy's side. Man, no wonder Frankie's always so fuckin' grumpy. He hasn't got laid in probable decades!"   
She cackled, slowly managing to calm down a little, sighing loudly to herself.

"Why ain't that a surprise to me?"  
Angel rolled his eyes and chuckled.

With a small sigh and the smile still on his face, Angel looked at his sister again.  
"How the fuck are you still single? You could get any man ya want and ya still ain't got one on lockdown."

The moment that the topic of her supposed 'single' status was brought up though, a wide, almost smug smile stretched across the female spider's face.   
"Well, about that actually..."   
She began, a small almost sheepish laugh leaving her lips.   
"I'm actually _not_ single anymore. I got me a man, Tony."

Now _that_ caught Angel's attention. With a raised brow, he looked over at his sister.  
"Excuse me?"  
He crossed both sets of arms over his chest and stomach.  
"And why wasn't this brought up sooner, Miss Disco Biscuit?"  
He asked in a faux scolding tone, a small smirk of his own finding a home on his face.

"Ya didn't have a man when I got snatched. Who is he and what's he like? And he better treat ya like the fuckin' boss queen you fuckin' are or I _swear_ -"  
Angel nudged her by poking her arm.

Molly could only laugh at her brother's fake scolding, playfully nudging him back in his side.

"Y'know the guy we got free drinks outta when we went out last? Well, after ya left, we kept on talkin' for a while and then we went back to his place for the night. It was honesty, despite being a bit tipsy, so _fuckin'_ _good_. Anyways, skip to the next couple days an' after I caused a scene at the studios, he's there to calm me down and all that."   
She paused for a moment, remembering how well Stewart had looked after her when she went back around to his place.

"Daddy gave him the whole questioning, guess he checked out alright 'cause for the past two weeks I've been stayin' at his place and, _god_ Tony, he's treatin' me so nicely. Asked me to be his girl over this dinner he made and wow, it had me tearing up and everythin'!"   
She was clearly happy, having found a solid love in her life _finally_.

Angel couldn't help but melt at Molly's explanation. He supposed it was good that they went out when they did and that he even had the ability to take his sister out. Some good came of it all; and that, in Angel's eyes, was worth it.

"Oh, Molls! He sounds amazing! I didn't get to know 'im very well but, god he sounds fantastic! And if Pops approves? Holy shit, that's a fuckin' accomplishment! Throw a parade for the man!"  
He chuckled and wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulders.

"You're so lucky. From what I remember, he was a real sweet guy."  
He sighed then, the smile still on his face.

Letting her head drop to rest against her brother's shoulder a moment, Molly nodded.   
"Real lucky indeed. And you wanna know what the best part is? Fat Nuggets loves 'im and he loves Fat Nuggets. It's so sweet seein' them together."   
She giggled softly.

Angel couldn't help but smile, knowing Fat Nuggets and Molly's new man got along.   
"That's definitely an added bonus!"  
He paused, looking down at the bedding for a few moments before speaking again.  
"I think I should give Al _one_ more shot... but if he fucks up again, I'll get you to help me gut his ass and make a nice venison dinner. And I ain't gunna jump right in. It'll be a slow process."  
He explained, making sure his sister understood.  
"He let me kill that piece of shit and take his soul for myself after all..."

Molly slowly sat up and faced Angel as he spoke about the Radio Demon.  
"I think... I guess you could be right in doin' that. I dunno. I just wanna see you happy, Tony. And if Al's the one who does that, then maybe ya should give him just one more chance. He came back for your ass after all."   
Sighing, Molly brought a hand up to gently pat her brother's shoulder, offering him a small smile.   
"He says a word that upsets you, and I wanna know about it. He's already on my bad side, so he's gotta redeem himself in my eyes too."

With a nod, Angel agreed to the terms and conditions.  
"If he so much as looks at me weird, I'll tell ya."  
He replied softly.

"I'll probably go out and get a new phone later today or tomorrow. Got a little more processing to do before I can function properly. When I do get one, I'll let ya know right away and we can set somethin' up so I can meet your man properly."

"Good. I'd love for us all to go out together again eventually, but yeah, I'll let ya know."   
She smiled softly, suddenly remembering something.   
"Oh, and once you've decided on where you're gunna stay- whether it be here or somewhere else, Fat Nuggets is absolutely _dying_ to see ya again so I'm sure he'd be more than happy to move back in with ya again."

It would be sad to see the pig leave and move back in with its owner, but Molly also knew that Fat Nuggets had been missing Angel so much recently.

Angel chuckled lightly, giving a nod.  
"I can't wait to see my chunky baby again. I'll make sure everything gets set up and organized. Maybe you can have him every other week? Like shared custody, except we ain't divorced parents."

Pulling out her phone to quickly check the time, she nodded.   
"Shared custody sounds great."   
The spider giggled, satisfied that Fat Nuggets would be spending time with both of them.

He gave a small laugh then shrugged.  
"I dunno. I'm just glad I'm free again without any possible risk of goin' back. Gotta work myself offa those pills again too- shit."

Angel took a breath and sat up again.  
"Anyways, you should probably get home. Pops is probably gunna call any minute askin' where you're at, knowin' him."  
With a smile, he looked to his sister.   
"Thanks for comin' by, Molls. Ya really helped me out a lot."

"Daddy's surprisingly been quite lenient recently with me stayin' at Stew's. But yeah, you're right. I do have to go over there soon so I should probably get goin'."   
Slowly shuffling to the side of the bed, Molly began to stand, brushing her outfit out a bit.  
"Anytime ya need me, I'm just a text away. Hell, I'd be happy to help ya out with advice over the phone if ya ever need it, you know that. And as for Al? He'd better behave."

Angel huffed a laugh and nodded, moving to get out of the bed. He had a pair of socks on, so his feet were safe. Even if it was his sister, he wasn't going to risk anything.

Keeping a hand on the wall, Angel held himself steady, this really the first time he'd gotten up for anything other than to use the bathroom and take his pills.

"I'll walk ya down to the door."  
He stated as he started moving out towards the hallway, his legs and hips seeming to pop with the smallest movements.

Molly, as she turned to walk out of the room, glanced back over her shoulder at Angel as he stood, the female spider's smile faltering a little. Her brother looked a little unsteady and weak- was that what Alastor had meant when he said that perhaps Molly could help Angel's state of mind?

"Uh, Tony? You doin' alright?"   
She asked, reaching a hand out to Angel.   
"Y'know, now that I think about it, Al did seem a little worried about ya when I asked where you were upon showing up here."   
She started, holding the bedroom door open for Angel.   
"You better have been eatin' or I _swear_ , Tony."

"I'm not gunna answer that 'cause you're gunna beat the shit outta me."  
He replied as he followed her out.  
"I've been feelin' sick as hell because of everything that's been happenin'."  
Angel added with a sigh, leading Molly down the stairs.

Molly found herself frowning all the more at Angel's explanation as she walked with him. She could understand that her brother had had a lot going on in his mind at the moment, but still.

"I'll start eating though. I'm feelin' a bit better now."  
With that explained, he prepared himself for a slap or something.

"You should still eat- no matter how shit you feel."   
She rolled her eyes once they were at the bottom of the stairs, simply turning to her brother and lightly hitting his shoulder.   
"You're such a dumbass sometimes, you know that Anthony?"

Angel chuckled lightly, flinching a bit at the gentle hit.  
"Hey, trust me, I know. I gotta live with my dumbass self on a regular basis."

As he took the last step, he started for the front door.  
"I promise I'll eat somethin'."  
He stated as he put a hand on the handle of the door and extended his pinky finger of his other hand to his sister before opening it.  
"Pinky promise."

Molly, as she moved towards the door now, raised a brow at the pinky that was extended her way.   
"Pinky promise."   
She nodded back, holding out one of her pinkies and hooking it around her brother's.   
"Anyways, I'm so glad to see you're doin' alright and I hope you figure everythin' out soon, okay? As soon as you get that phone of yours, you better bet I'll be sendin' you more of Nuggets' photos."

Angel smiled, linking their fingers for a moment or two before letting go and finally opened the door.  
"I'll make sure you're the very first person I text, don't you worry."

The spider then stepped aside and opened the door further for his sister so she could be on her way, giving her a light hug before she left.  
"Thanks again for stoppin' by. It really helped."

Molly gladly hugged her brother back, patting him on the back once more.   
"I'll see ya around Tony!"   
And with that, she was walking away, giving the other a small wave just as the door closed behind her and she was off.

Angel waved before shutting the door slowly. He took a pause, looking down at his hand as he slowly removed it from the handle, smile fading.

Turning back towards the stairs, Angel slowly made his way back towards the lounge where the light turning of pages was heard.

Alastor hadn't been listening in too much, only to the conversation that the spider had while in the downstairs hallway. Aside from that and the loud fits of laughter from the twins, he'd heard nothing, having spent his time reading a book.

Eyes slowly moving up, Angel looked Alastor in the face. His lower set of arms hugging himself while the upper set kind of held each other.  
"Thanks... for letting her in..."

As he heard the front door close followed by Angel's footsteps into the lounge, Alastor slowly looked up from his book, raising a brow at the spider.   
"Oh, you're quite welcome my dear."   
He stated with a nod.   
"Although, since I told your sister that you were here, whether I said she could come in or not, I don't think that would have mattered to her regardless."  
Angel was definitely looking a little more lively since his sister had arrived.

He gave a small smile, nodding a bit.  
"Still, you coulda sent her to your pit of darkness or whatever. Can I sit?"  
He asked as he nodded to the couch. The events while being at under Valentino's reign had clearly taken a toll on him, having been pushed back in terms of his independence.

He may have rebelled quite a bit while there, but it still had him skittish and timid again.

Alastor gave a small laugh at that, about to make a rather intimidating comment however immediately thinking better of it.

"Yes, you may sit if you wish."   
He grinned instead, pushing up the monocle over his eye, a tuning radio sounding as he did so, and placed his book down for a moment.   
"Am I allowed any insight into what the two of you may have been discussing up there? Or do you still see me as having ulterior motives?"

The spider rolled his eyes a bit and sat on the couch he usually found himself on, giving Alastor a bit of a sideways glance; exhaling with a bit of a sigh as he relaxed into the couch.  
"There wasn't much. We just talked about shit that happened over the last few weeks and talked about things that we remembered from life. She's got a man now, which is great. She just wanted to make sure I was okay..."  
Angel started rubbing the fabric of his shirt between his fingers.   
"Seein' her really did help."  
He added.

He wasn't going to tell the deer about the verdict they'd come to about the second chance Alastor was going to eventually be given. Angel figured it would be a bit better to see how far the Radio Demon was willing to go to get back on his good side and see if he wasn't just fucking around. A bit of payback as well, for not giving a warning about Valentino.

Crossing a leg over the other, Alastor nodded upon hearing what Angel had to say. On the bright side, at least the spider was talking to him properly again.

"Why, that's wonderful news for her! Do tell her congratulations from me, I can't imagine that she will be speaking to me any time soon herself, which is understandable."

And while Alastor hadn't been listening in to their conversation upstairs, everything that was said downstairs was heard loud and clear by the deer.   
At least Molly had been able to talk some sense into Angel and hopefully get him eating again.   
"I suppose the important thing is that you are feeling a little better. You are... aren't you?"

Angel looked down, still fiddling with his shirt as he nodded with a small hum.  
"Mhm... yeah, a little."  
He replied quietly as he pulled his legs up onto the couch.

"She told me she came around and beat the shit outta ya. Not gunna lie, I laughed."  
Angel's faint smile came back again for a moment; but his eyes stayed down.

Alastor couldn't help but grimace slightly at that, bringing a hand to his nose, lips pursing together.   
"Ah yes, your sister can throw quite the punch."   
He admitted, his usual smile quickly returning to his face though.

Of course, Alastor let her beat him up by all means, not usually would he let someone do that to him. In fact, not ever would he let someone do that to him just like that.

"But I can see why she did, and I did not retaliate in light of my remorse."

It was clear Alastor was beating himself up at the time, knowing damn well he wouldn't just sit back and let someone beat his ass as Molly had.

"Yeah, she's a really strong woman in more than one way."  
The spider replied, slowly bringing his eyes up to the deer again.   
"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm really not. You deserved it."

Angel then stood up again and moved to stand in front of Alastor, looking down at him for a few moments before brushing a fist across the Radio Demon's cheek as a gentle punch.

Alastor watched as Angel stood up, his eyes following the spider's movements as he moved to stand in front of him, a soft fist landing gently across his cheek. Alastor raised a brow as soon as it had happened, expecting something with at least a little force behind it; but no.

"And that's my contribution to it."  
The spider then turned away and made his way back to the stairs.

"Angel, wait-"   
Alastor began, quickly standing from his chair to follow Angel to the foot of the stairs.   
"I'm sorry."   
And that was all Alastor felt he could say at this point.

The arachnid stopped in his tracks as he was called to, only having made it to the third step. His features softened as he turned to Alastor and stepped back down.

Carefully taking Alastor's hands, Angel put them around his waist before wrapping his own arms around the deer's neck.  
"I know you are, Al."  
He then leaned forward and placed a small kiss to Alastor's cheek before pulling away again to go back upstairs.

Alastor stood at there, looking up at Angel, his own expressions softening slightly, eyes widening as the spider moved his hands to his waist, the spider's arms resting around the deer's neck for a brief moment.   
And as short as this moment was between them, barely a few seconds, for Alastor, it was enough. It told him that perhaps there was hope in rekindling this relationship they'd had before.

As Angel pulled back away, Alastor took a few steps back from the stairs, a rather soft smile upon his face as he watched Angel make his way back up and round the corner of the upstairs hallway.


	11. This Desperation Is On Air

As the day continued, Angel had something to eat and pulled his shit together a bit before deciding he would go out and get the new phone the next day.   
The night was a bit rough, but the spider made it through.

Later in the morning, Angel asked Alastor if he would care to join him in the city. He had yet to see or hear about the damage done from the extermination.   
Of course, there was still blood staining the streets and a fair few buildings had been ruined.

Alastor, fortunately, hadn't much planned for the day, so it was at Angel's invitation to join him in the city that the deer was quick to say yes to. It had been a while since Alastor had ventured into the city, and with all of the recent events there were a few things he wanted to pick up, so it suited him as well.

They'd spent around an hour or so looking for a phone for the arachnid as well as picking one out, and it seemed that was all he needed in the city.

As soon as Angel got the phone working, he quickly put Molly's number in and sent her a quick text so she could update the contact information in her device.

With Alastor by his side, Angel looked to him with a bit of a smile as he tucked the device away into his coat. He would adjust it and customize it a little later.  
"Alright, that's all I needed. We can go back home now if ya want."

Alastor on the other hand had other plans.   
"Why, I do believe there are a fair few more places I have to visit before we return. You may join me if you wish unless you want to go back to the house."   
Alastor announced, one arm behind his back, microphone in his other hand as they walked along the streets of Pentagram City's center.

Angel shrugged, not really minding being outside.  
"I'll join ya, sure. Nice seein' all these scared little bitches around here."  
He replied with a joyful smile as he followed Alastor's lead with a bit of a hum, trailing behind him and to the left.   
Once again, a habit that had quickly resurfaced.

It still hadn't quite kicked into Angel's mind that he was a potential overlord now. He didn't follow anyone anymore. He didn't _belong_ to anyone anymore.   
It was right back to square one and he was going to have to come to realize all of this all over again. Of course the process was going to be easier this time and a little quicker.

Alastor nodded as he continued to walk towards the store he needed to go to, taking note of the demons cowering out of their way. Pathetic yet wonderful entertainment.   
"As they should be. Their ruler and a potential overlord who just killed off Valentino are walking down the street together. Why I'd be on my knees if I were them!"   
Alastor laughed, static crackling behind his words as he glanced over his shoulder, noticing Angel walking behind him a bit. Once again.

"You could be truly great, you know."  
The deer continued on, twirling his microphone in his hands a bit.   
"You've been given the power to do so, so if I were you I simply would. Overlord status does indeed have its benefits."

Angel looked around again with a raised brow.  
"I feel like this ain't even half of it."  
He replied, looking to the deer again.

He had to admit, this really was nice. Being feared rather than fearing. This was certainly more than what it was after the casino and Mazie's combined. He should have known killing an overlord was going to be so rewarding.

Of course there were a few demons around that were looking at the spider with a hungry thirst and mix of anger. Clearly they were some of the ones that Valentino had wrapped around his finger- ones that funded the business.

Alastor continued to talk as they walked, his grin dangerously wide as he stared at some of the demons passing by purely to see their faces of terror.   
"This certainly isn't even a fraction of it, my dear! Imagine what it will be like if you _do_ rise as an overlord! Well, I suppose it's like what you're used to already. Being simply well known- but with fear, respect and all the groveling added on."

Angel gave a bit of a nod, his smile growing a little. He had to admit he did like the sound of all of that. 

Finally they reached the outside of the store that Alastor had needed to go to, the deer stopping outside of the door and turning to Angel.

As Alastor stopped and turned to him, the spider stopped as well, brows raising as he looked to the building for a moment.

"I'll wait out here. You go get whatever you want and I'll get my phone set up."  
The arachnid smiled a little more as he pulled his phone out of his coat pocket and nestled himself against the wall of the building.

"I won't be a moment, my dear."  
Alastor grinned, stepping into the store and leaving Angel outside for a moment.   
He honestly hoped that Angel would perhaps think about taking the path of an overlord- Alastor truly could see it doing the spider some good, giving him a purpose now that Valentino was dead.

Inside the store it didn't take Alastor, surprisingly, too long to find what he'd been after.  
The cashier at the store of course recognized who Alastor was, and apart from being scared half to their second death, they did give all of Alastor's products to him for free- something he very much appreciated.

While Alastor was inside, Angel stayed where he was, humming a bit as he did what he said he was going to. However, an unexpected visitor came rushing over.

"Angel!"  
A voice called as the demon pushed his way through a few huddles of demons.  
"Angel Dust!"

The arachnid's head shot up in the direction of his name being called.  
The two of them were quite tall so they could see each other over the heads of the smaller demons.

"Vox? Whatcha doin' here?"  
He asked as he moved closer.

"The studio. Angel there's a problem. With Valentino gone, it's _chaos_. There's no one working and no one to keep order. I tried but I don't know half the things that the damn prick did to keep it running so smoothly. I tried finding you sooner but no one could get ahold of you. You're the only one who knows that shit almost as well as Valentino did."  
Vox was clearly frazzled and frantic about it all.

"I don't know if-"

"Please Angel. You know better than anyone what'll happen if that place falls."  
The TV cut the spider off, continuing to plead.  
"I'll do anything at this point. I know you're fit for it. Please Angie."

After pocketing the recently brought items quickly into the void, Alastor, humming a classy tune to himself, stepped out of the store, his eyes immediately narrowing upon seeing the familiar-looking overlord that stood in front of Angel looking rather... distressed perhaps?  
"Now, what's this?"   
Alastor hummed, striding forwards beside Angel, still making sure to keep his distance.   
"Vox."   
Raising a brow, the deer nodded in the TV's direction.

Angel was about to speak up but was stopped when Alastor's voice rang through the air. Turning towards the Radio Demon, Vox's attention shifted over to him as well.

"Alastor, you're looking well. Unfortunately I can't be bothered with your antics at this particular moment."  
Vox stated, his attention falling back to Angel, gently taking one of his hands.  
"Please Angel. There isn't time to think about this. Even if it's just a little while so you can show me how to do it all."

Angel was quick to pull his hand away and step back, shifting a little closer to Alastor.  
"I dunno if I'm ready for that-"

Alastor cleared his throat a moment, actually stepping in between the two, keeping his gaze upon the other overlord.

"Now now Vox, care to explain what's going on? Angel here, as you know, has had quite the exhausting few weeks- whatever you want him to do can surely wait."

Angel was a bit surprised at how quick Alastor was to step in and aid him.   
Vox, on the other hand, wasn't too pleased.

Of course, with no context of this conversation, Alastor had every right to be skeptical, not to mention that Alastor knew how close Vox had been with Valentino. If he was trying anything with the arachnid, Alastor was going to put a stop to it immediately.

"The industry is next to nonexistent and I'm trying to get Angel to step in and take Valentino's place. No one knows the business like Angel. He was Vee's number one for everything. Even _I_ was nothing compared to him, and I'm _fantastic_."  
Vox replied with a hit of an agitated huff.  
"There's not much time before a full-on riot happens and we all know the problems that'll cause you, Alastor. I just need Angel to come and at least show me how to do things so everything can get back on track. No, it won't be the same, but I'm on my knees."

Alastor's eyes narrowed all the more, his smile widening with a small glint as he listened to what Vox actually had to say. While the porn business was by no means any of Alastor's concern at all, these so-called riots that Vox said could happen, were something that Alastor would be having to sort out if it came down to it. And riots, down here especially, were never Alastor's scene at all. 

'Why, I d-"   
However before Alastor could say anymore, Angel had suddenly spoken up, the words he let out being rather surprising to the deer.

"No you're not."  
Angel butted in, getting Vox's attention, whose face was replaced with a question mark.  
"You're not on your knees, circuit board."  
The spider clarified.   
"Literally get on your knees and I _might_ consider it."

Angel wasn't sure if he was actually going to consider it, he just wanted to abuse this power he had for a little bit.   
Vox wasn't _nearly_ as bad as Valentino, but he did just stand by and watch a lot of the things that happened. He even filmed a lot of it, if not _all_ of it.

If there was one thing the Radio Demon knew about Vox, then it was his stubbornness as an overlord. There was no way that Angel Dust would get that screen to do such a-

Without hesitation, the question mark on the television's screen being replaced with his face once again, the overlord got on his knees.  
"Please, Angel."

"How pitiful."  
Alastor chuckled softly, turning his head away from Vox a moment, looking around and seeing a few demons watching this scene unfolding.

Angel gave a small smile and stepped out from behind Alastor, patting the top of the screen.  
"Good boy! Now stay there for a second. Al, a word if you please."  
The spider said as he lightly grabbed Alastor's arm and pulled him a little ways away, glancing back at Vox to make sure he hadn't moved.

Vox looked really pissed off about the situation, looking around at the demons who were looking at him, some even taking pictures. The TV simply snarled in the onlookers' direction.

"The fuck am I supposed to do here? I don't wanna go back there..."  
Angel stated to the Radio Demon, trying to sound calm about it.

Alastor could only smile at this situation, letting himself be pulled to the side by Angel.   
"I hardly think this is my decision to make, my dear. He's asking you to step in for what Valentino did- not _be_ Valentino. I think this could be your chance, if I do say so myself, however, if you are not ready then I'd understand. And Vox will just have to understand as well."

In Alastor's opinion, this truly was the perfect opportunity for Angel to start turning heads of those demons who weren't interested in who and how you killed, simply who you were and what turf you ran and owned. Not only that, but it really would give Angel a bit more of a purpose than just a whore, Valentino's 'pet'. He'd finally get his own name.

Angel glanced at Vox again, who snapped his fingers- causing all of the devices that were pointed at him to break and fizzle with a puff of smoke. The overlord simply smirked and snickered at the distress he had just caused.  
Alastor simply rolled his eyes, clearly not impressed.

"Do ya really think it's a good idea though? I still can't leave the house without someone by my side. Charlie's still out there. Who the hell even _knows_ what she might do."  
The spider argued, bringing his attention back to the deer.

"Oh, I haven't had the chance to tell you."  
The deer replied nonchalantly as he, too, turned back to face Angel.   
"Husker informed me that Charlie has decided to disband her little gathering of demons and is no longer a threat to neither me nor you. With no one posing any kind of threat against you anymore, I'd say it's more or less safe to leave the house without an escort. After all, you took down Valentino. Who would _possibly_ want to pick a fight with you, haha!"

The arachnid took a breath, both sets of arms wrapping around himself as he began to think, trying to come up with a decision. Unfortunately there was no time for the spider to think it over.

If Alastor was telling the honest truth, there really wasn't anything stopping him aside from the post-traumatic stress just being back in that building would cause him.  
He supposed if it was only temporary, he'd be able to manage. And who knew? Maybe he'd quickly get over it all and take on the responsibility full time.

With a nod, Angel turned back to the kneeling overlord, who immediately perked and went to stand.

"No no, you stay down."  
Angel stated, putting a hand on the TV's shoulder and pushed him back down.  
"I'll do it _temporarily_. I'll show ya how to do things and depending on how that goes, I might take the role full time."

Vox's face lit up and went to speak but Angel stopped him again.  
 _"And!_ Don't try half-assing _anything_ when I'm tryna teach you so I have no choice but to stay. I ain't fuckin' stupid. I'll know. Now get outta here. I'll be over tonight."

As soon as Angel finished his addition and took his hand off of his shoulder, Vox nodded.  
"Angel, you are a fabulous demon and there will be no way of properly repaying you."

"I said _scram_ , microwave!"

Vox wasted no time in getting to his feet and making his way back to the porn studios as quickly as he could.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ, what'd I get myself into...?"  
Angel sighed to himself, rubbing his temples.

Alastor silently watched on in amusement, his previous dangerous smile upon seeing Vox, quickly turning rather smug as he watched Angel take control of the situation and send the TV running away with a metaphorical tail between his legs. _Perfect_.

"That was quite the stand you took, Angel, dear! The perfect performance."  
Disregarding boundaries for just a moment, Alastor moved closer to the spider, clasping him in congratulations upon his shoulder, patting a few times.   
"How very merciful of you to take pity on such a groveling lump. You should be proud, my dear, I truly think this is good!"

Angel jumped a bit at the sudden contact, disregarding it only because he knew it was Alastor.   
He watched until Vox was out of sight before turning to Alastor with a hint of a smile, the surrounding demons continuing on with their own business.

"This better not be a fuckin' mistake on my part."  
The spider stated.

Alastor had a feeling that this indeed would not be a mistake on the arachnid's part. In fact, he had a very strong feeling that this was _exactly_ what Angel needed.

"Anyways, ya got what ya needed? I'm ready to go home. Should eat and make myself pretty before goin' in."

"Ah, yes, I have everything that I came for. I shall teleport us there, I can hardly be bothered with walking back through this... _cesspool_."  
He grinned, giving Angel a once over, eyebrow raising.   
"Well my dear, in my opinion you look perfect as it is. No beautifying needed!"  
And with that, he gently took Angel's arm, the two of them disappearing from the center of the pentagram in an instant, appearing back at Alastor's home.

Angel rolled his eyes at the compliment and reluctantly permitted the physical contact. He really didn't feel like walking back either.

Once they'd arrived, the deer quickly waltzed his way into the kitchen, snapping his fingers and summoning a portal to the void. 

Humming a gentle tune to himself, Alastor reached into the pool of darkness, pulling out the few items that he'd brought just a few minutes ago.

Angel retracted immediately and made his way up to his room. He took his daily pill and went into his closet; which it's contents gave him quite the scare.   
As soon as he opened the closet door, Valentino's coat greeted him as it hung on the door.

Angel, thinking Valentino was still somehow alive, let out a yelp and jumped back like a cat realizing a cucumber sat behind it, landing his cowering ass on the other side of the room with his face covered by his upper set of arms.

Before the Radio Demon could even take a look at the items, a muffled screech could be heard from upstairs followed by a bang above him.   
Confused as to what was going on, Alastor quickly manifested up in the doorway of Angel's room, seeing the spider on the ground, looking rather shaken up, his gaze pointed at the long lavish coat.

"Is everything alright?"  
Alastor questioned, announcing his presence.

The spider took a deep breath, holding his chest as he came down from the shock. He looked to Alastor and sighed, shaking his head.  
"No, I'm fine. Just scared myself a little... don't worry about it."  
Angel stated softly as he got up off of the floor, brushing himself down.

Alastor kept his distance by staying in the doorway, arms crossing over his chest.   
"Ah, I see."  
The deer nodded, eyes scanning the room. He really would have to get another mattress for the bed if Angel planned on staying in this room.

Walking back over to the closet, the spider carefully grabbed one of the sleeves of the coat and rubbed the fabric a bit.   
"Do ya think I should wear it? As a little bit of a power move?"

Alastor's eyes darted back towards the coat in the closet, thinking for a moment.   
Every overlord had their signature style about them, and while Valentino's had been quite lavish, his signature consisting of many heart-shaped objects and emblems, it didn't necessarily mean that Angel had to follow in his footsteps. However, wearing the roach's coat on the first day of the job?

"I think that would be quite the statement indeed. It would certainly cause some chatter amongst demons, that's for sure."  
He let out slightly smugly, snapping his fingers loosely, unmoving from where he leaned against the doorway, the coat floating up into the air.   
"However, I do think a few adjustments would have to be made, do you not think?"

Angel stepped back from the coat and let go of it.  
"It's a bit long so I'd be trippin' all over fuckin' Hell with it on, so, ya might be right in fixin' that part a bit."  
He shrugged, looking to Alastor for a moment.  
"Ya got a demon that can make the changes? I know of one but she's probably busy right now."

Alastor simply nodded, slowly straightening up from where he was leaning against the door.   
"Yes, I do believe Niffty is quite talented in the arts of seamstressing. She's had to patch up my jacket here plenty of times."

Turning on his heels, Alastor headed towards the stairs.   
"I won't be a moment!"  
He called.

Angel watched as Alastor left, the oversized coat following him out as it dragged on the floor.  
"Alright."  
The spider replied simply, going back to get his things ready for his later departure.

He was questioning his own sanity now. He knew that killing Valentino was the only way to really get him to fuck off for good, but he didn't think about the problems it held when he was finally gone even though he thought about it countless times and even explained it to Alastor when they first met.  
It was too late to go back and change anything now though, so thinking about it and regretting it was utterly pointless.

Alastor quickly made his way into the lounge and over to the fireplace, Valentino's coat dragging behind him as he did so.   
Summoning his microphone, Alastor wasted no time in calling upon Niffty, the cold fireplace instantly warming the room as it burst into flames, the tiny spec of a demon being pulled out of the fire by the Radio Demon.

"Oh, Niffty, my dear!"  
Alastor sang out, glancing down at her.

The tiny demon's single eye popped open as the soot left her form with a puff, her cute smile widening as she looked to the Radio Demon.  
"Hello, Alastor! Nice to see you again!"  
She beamed.  
"Is it time for another deep clean? It's been a while! There better not be another mess like the last one, _goodness_ that gave me nightmares!"

Snapping his fingers once again, the coat that had been trailing behind him came forwards, absolutely huge in comparison to a demon like Niffty.

"Hm, not quite. It's this coat, one I'm sure you recognize. Angel upstairs would like to wear it this evening, however, it's, unfortunately, a little too large for him. I'm presuming you can fix it up a little?"  
He grinned widely.

Niffty looked to the coat, her eye widening.  
"Oh my gosh, what a beautiful fabric! It's so much nicer in person!"  
She exclaimed, zipping out of Alastor's grasp and up to the massive garment.  
"I can have it fitted in no time! All I'll need is the one wearing it and my kit, which I'll get ready right away!"  
With that, the demon zipped out of the lounge to grab her sewing tools and her little ladder.

"Angel is just upstairs, I'm sure he'll be happy to help you out!"  
Alastor called to the tiny demon as she zipped off, knowing that she'd heard him loud and clear.

With that being done, Angel getting ready, Alastor commanded his microphone to disappear as he waltzed back into the kitchen, going back to his purchases and unboxing them. Figuring out how they worked exactly was certainly going to be fun.

Niffty was quick in grabbing her kit along with the coat and rushed her way up the stairs with a mighty grin.   
This was of much excitement to her, that was clear to see.

Zipping into the spider's room, the tiny girl got herself all set up before Angel could so much as blink.

"Shit, you're fast-"  
Angel chuckled lightly, having just closed his closet.

"I'll just need you to stand right on this stool so I can fix this up while it's on you, if you don't mind!"  
Niffty smiled as she plucked a few pins from her little box.

With a nod, the spider moved over to where he was asked to be, picked up the coat and put it on as he got up to stand on the stool.   
Even with the added height, the coat still flowed little ways across the wooden flooring.

"Are there any other alterations you'd like to have done other than fitting?"  
The small demon asked as she got right to work in pinning the coat for later sewing.

"Just fitting is fine for now. I'll come up with other ideas for it later maybe."  
Angel stated as he watched the demon work away.

The fitting process was extremely quick, all thanks to Niffty's excited and fast energy. It certainly surprised Angel to find that it only took her mere minutes to finish pinning.

The spider took the coat off and carefully handed it off to the smaller demon, not wanting to drop it on top of her and run the risk of never seeing the poor girl ever again.

Luckily she was quick in the stitching too. Angel was up and wearing it within thirty minutes of Niffty even starting.   
She had Angel put the coat on to make sure it looked right, then packed up her things and brought him downstairs to show Alastor.

Alastor heard footsteps making their way down the stairs, having managed to both figure out and set up the appliances he'd brought, taking a step back with a wide grin in regards to the accomplishment.

Once the footsteps could be heard in the lounge, Alastor quickly made his way over, raising an eyebrow at the coat that hung around Angel's frame, definitely more fitted then what it had been before.

"Why, I'd say that looks as if it was made for you!"   
Alastor slowly clapped, nodding in Niffty's direction as thanks.

Niffty simply grinned, nodding in Alastor's direction as Angel turned to look at him.

"I think I did an alright job!"  
She chimed as she put her things back where they were.

Angel adjusted the fluffy collar a bit with a shrug.  
"I'll think of some minor changes to make later- that is if I don't suffocate and die in this damn thing."  
Angel added a hint of sarcasm to the last bit and smoothed out the rest of the fabric on his torso.

Watching as Angel adjusted the mass amount of fluff upon the collar of the coat, Alastor then turned back to Niffty.   
"Well Niffty dear, I do think that will be all for now. I shall call upon you if anything else is needed."   
He grinned, knowing that the tiny demon was always busy, therefore didn't usually stick around for long if not needed.

Niffty gave a nod and took her leave, leaving the two gentlemen to their business.

And as for Angel? Alastor did want to show him what he had brought and finally managed to set up in the kitchen.

Angel took a breath and started undoing the coat so he could finish getting ready. He also didn't feel like getting mouthfuls of fluff when he ate before heading to the studios.

"She's a cute one."  
The spider stated casually as he set the heap of fabric down on the couch for the time being.

Alastor watched as the now fitted coat was laid down upon the couch momentarily.

"Yes, Niffty is rather sweet. Now, I did have something I wanted to show you."   
He grinned, gesturing towards the kitchen.

"It was quite the challenge getting it set up, I will admit, however I am positive that now it's working just fine!"   
Pausing a moment, Alastor teleported over to the kitchen counters.

Angel's brows raised as he made his way into the kitchen, assuming that _was_ where Alastor had gone to.

With his curiosity piqued, the spider looked into the kitchen and saw where Alastor stood, sounding so proud of himself with the proudest of grins; a microwave on the counter in front of him, arm resting on top of the box.

"I shall make us some food with this new device!"

"I thought you didn't want one of these 'radiation boxes that suck the flavor out of everything'."  
Angel quoted, looking the device and then to Alastor.

Alastor nodded rather enthusiastically at Angel's response.   
"Why yes, and I still stick to everything I said back then. However! I know that you did desperately want a so-called radiation box, so I took it upon myself to buy just that. For you, might I add."  
Because right now, if Alastor wanted Angel to forgive him, he knew he'd have to please him in at least _some_ way.

If Angel was being honest with himself, he only wanted the microwave to make popcorn or something at the time. He didn't mind the cold jambalaya, so really, it was only going to be used that once.

"I... appreciate it, Al. But ya really didn't need to."  
The spider sighed, keeping a small smile on his face.   
The thought was really sweet and Angel truly did appreciate the gesture, and the fact Alastor even remembered that.

Alastor simply shook his head.   
"No no no, any wish you have is my command, my dear. Whether that be an old wish or a new. Now, I suspect you'll have to be on your way soon- I shall make us some food."

Yes, this was definitely something that Alastor had to do. If Angel insisted on the integration of modern technology within the Radio Demon's home, then by all means would Alastor do just that.

Angel wasn't going to argue with Alastor over this. If it's what he really wanted to do, he wasn't going to fight that.   
It was a good first step in the spider's opinion.

"If ya need help figuring it out, lemme know."  
He stated with a shrug, being certain the deer wouldn't have the first clue about how to use it, seeing as it was mentioned that it took him a while to set the thing up, which wasn't hard to do at all.

Moving towards the microwave, Alastor adjusted his monocle, eyes squinting as he leaned down to attempt to read the writing above some of the buttons.

"...defrost?"   
He whispered to himself, slowly turning around to Angel who was just leaving the room.   
"Ah- Angel. What, perhaps, do you put _into_ a microwave? Any food you wish to heat up? And more importantly, _how_ do you do it?"

Angel turned back to Alastor, giving a small chuckle with a shake of his head as he walked back over. He didn't give a specific time that he'd be at the studios, so he had the time to teach the equivalent of an old man how to use this simple piece of technology.

"Ya put food in it that ya wanna be warmed up and use the buttons on the side to tell it what to do with it."  
The spider began to explain as he leaned on the counter in front of the device.  
"So there's a few options, but all ya really need are the numbers. I don't fuck with anything else."

Alastor made sure to listen carefully in regard to the function of a microwave. All of the different buttons and the fact that it was used for simply heating food, and wouldn't be suitable for perhaps large pieces of meat- unless you liked said meat _not_ done properly. All of those things fascinated the Radio Demon, to say the least.

"Hmm, yes. I do think I understand now."   
Alastor then nodded, snapping his fingers and summoning some pasta in a small pack.   
"I presume this will work once in some water?"

Angel held out a hand, taking the package and flipped it to read the instructions.  
With a nod, the arachnid passed it back towards Alastor.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. Just read the microwave instructions here."  
He pointed to the specific set of words.  
"If ya hit a snag lemme know. I'll just be upstairs."

With that, Angel turned back to grab the coat and go up to his room to finish getting ready.   
This wasn't a night he would be looking forward to, but Angel knew he needed to get it over with.

Nodding, Alastor said nothing more, getting on with preparing him and Angel some food before the spider had to go off to his first day on the job.

Preparing the pasta in water was easy for the deer, however when it came to the microwave part? Not so much. He'd managed to open the door of the microwave and had placed the bowl of pasta inside, however it did take him a while to press the right buttons- or so he presumed they were the right buttons.   
Taking a step back from the microwave once it had begun to make a noise, Alastor left it, focusing on the rest of the meal that didn't require the microwave.

While Alastor was working on that, Angel took his time in cleaning himself up as his mind started to run off.

What was the Radio Demon trying to do by getting that damn microwave really? If he really got it for him, it was an.... _interesting_ approach in regaining Angel's trust and affection.

Again, the thoughts of what he was supposed to do and how long he was supposed to wait before fully trusting Alastor again. Of course, only time could really heal these wounds no matter how much care and attention they were given.  
How long? Days? Months? Years? How long until they could go back to how things used to be... if at all?

There it went again... think of the good memories from life; like Molly said. That should help. Right?

Angel found himself staring at his reflection in the mirror with the sink running as he came back to the present, leaving his thoughts behind as best as he could for these few moments.

The arachnid was now just finishing up in the bathroom, moving back to his bedroom when the smell of something burning hit him like a brick wall. Moving to the top of the stairs now, the spider listened.

Was it the smell of burning or simply cooked pasta that slowly began to fill the air as the microwave droned on in the kitchen? Alastor wasn't too sure. Everything else was ready and prepared, it was just the pasta he was now waiting on. If he'd simply boiled the pasta on the stove normally, it would have taken less time so perhaps microwaves really were inefficient radiation boxes after all.

Alastor stood, watching the microwave like a hawk, waiting for the rather long time to end. It had already been forty-five minutes.

"Al? Everything okay? Dunno if your nose works but shit's burnin'."  
He called as he started making his way back down to see what in the fuck was happening.   
Maybe Alastor went to the basement and forgot about something?

Turning into the kitchen, Angel was met with the Radio Demon just standing in front of the microwave, watching as the food inside burned away.   
Rushing over, the arachnid stopped the device, not daring to open it yet.  
"You havin' a stroke or something?"

The moment that the microwave was stopped, Alastor frowned, turning towards Angel.   
"A stroke? No no, I was simply waiting out the pasta. This device said it had one and fifteen left. I'm presuming it meant minutes."   
Snapping his fingers, the microwave door slammed open, black smoke pouring out as well as the smell of burnt pasta and bowl.   
"Hm, perhaps I didn't put enough water in."

The spider backed up and put an arm over his mouth to avoid inhaling too much smoke while coughing a bit, his other hands waving the thick black clouds away.

"Jesus Christ- how long didja put it in there for?!"  
Angel coughed out as he moved to open the window located just above sink.

Alastor, still with a slight frown on his face, slowly brought the pasta out of the microwave, or at least what was left of it and the bowl.   
"Why, I do believe that I input the numbers two."   
He explained with a small nod, looking down at the half-melted bowl that sat in his hand.  
"Perhaps the microwave is broken. I cannot see where my error would have been."

Angel looked at the remains of whatever it was Alastor put in the microwave and then to the deer's face.  
He couldn't help but crack a small smile and laugh. This man was too precious. The sheer disappointment on his face over failing at such a simple task was almost adorable.

"Babe, I think ya put it in for two _hours._ Not two _minutes._ "  
The spider chuckled with a shake of his head, moving over to the other and placed a hand on his back.  
"At least we're can say ya tried. Ya failed miserably; but ya tried."

Alastor simply cleared his throat, trying his hardest not to cough at the smoke that was finally filtering out of the kitchen via the now open window.   
"Well, perhaps microwaves are simply not for me. But, my dear, worry not! We still have some food before you are off to the studios."

Luckily, Alastor had prepared some other things to go with the pasta- even if the pasta was unfortunately not present.

Angel smiled a little more and leaned in, placing the smallest kiss to the Radio Demon's cheek in appreciation before making his way out of the kitchen again.

Alastor paused a moment, eyebrow raising at the small kiss that was placed to his cheek before the spider was heading out of the kitchen.

"It's alright. I gotta get goin' now, but I'll eat when I get back."  
He stated as he made his way up the stairs, grabbed the coat and moved back down as he put the now fitted velvet over his frame.

Poking his head into the kitchen, the spider gave a smile.  
"I'll be home tonight, 'kay?"

"Not a problem, Angel! I'll be here when you return!"   
He called out from the kitchen, throwing the burnt pasta in the trash. He'd have to think of something else to make Angel for food- something that didn't need a microwave.

As much as he wanted to stick around and teach Alastor how to use the 'radiation box', Angel wanted to get this chore over with; figuring that the sooner he got there, the sooner he'd be able to leave.

He could only imagine the amount of work to be done in all aspects of the industry. The contracts Valentino had were all broken and everyone was set free when he died, so ultimately they all probably took the chance and scattered, though some may have stayed a short while longer in hopes to piece him back together and bring him back.

Stockholm Syndrome was unfortunately extremely common for those under Valentino's influence.   
It likely had something to do with that stupid power he had in being able to manipulate and control the minds of inferior beings just by making eye contact with them. Angel knew all too well...


	12. You Are My Final Answer

Walking out of the studios in exhaustion, Angel fixed his coat with a soft sigh and started making his way back home. It was fairly late, meaning the streets were only illuminated by the street lamps, many of which eerily flickered a with a dull hum.

Even in the dim lighting of the streets, it was by complete chance that from the corner of his eye, Angel saw an unmistakably familiar figure heading down an alleyway.

What was Alastor _up_ to?

With his curiosity piqued, Angel followed loosely behind seeing as the Radio Demon hadn't noticed him. It could have been another soul to reap, but Angel hadn't had the privilege of joining Alastor for any of the collections thus far. Maybe this was his chance to see how it went down.

***

With Angel out of the house, it meant that as per usual, the Radio Demon could get on with some of his normal business.   
He'd heard from another demon that there was someone who wanted to form a deal with him; and of course, naturally, the Radio Demon was interested. Deals, now that he ruled, were especially hard to come by for him, however when they did? The deer was always eager to find out what they entailed and how he himself could benefit.

Alastor's menacing shadow followed tightly behind him as he prowled the streets, going towards the destination that this demon had asked to meet, a rather small alleyway quite out of the way of the main strip; and as all alleyways were down here in Hell, this one was just as filthy and as dark as the rest of them. Alastor tutted in almost annoyance as he stepped over some questionable liquid on the ground and looked ahead.   
The demon was already there. Perfect.

The demon in question looked all around gross, which was of no surprise to anyone.   
As he heard the footsteps approaching, he seemed to perk up, scrambling to his feet to give the Radio Demon a proper greeting.  
Just this demon's form alone was rather uncomfortable in itself, Alastor being able to practically smell it from halfway across the alleyway.

"Ah, ya came!"  
The demon exclaimed with a seemingly excited yet mildly sadistic grin.

Angel stayed quiet as he peered at the scene from the dark shadows that lurked around the corner.  
That didn't seem like the kind of greeting someone would give when their soul was about to be collected.   
He was about to turn back and head home when the demon's next line caught his attention again; and the words the demon spoke? Abominable, in Alastor's impenetrable opinion.

"I want to make a deal in exchange for some time with Angel Dust. I know the two of you are... _close_."

"Some time with Angel Dust? Why it's very bold of you to assume I know what that means and if I am even in contact with Angel in the first place."   
Alastor grinned, slowly strutting forwards, arms folded behind his back.

"I was told the two of you disappeared together after the whole thing with Valentino. People talk, y'know."  
He explained.  
"That and I know you two were quite the pair before Angel was taken back. I'm not gunna pry too much into that. I just wanna have... a little _fun_."

Alastor seemed to grow more and more repulsed with every word this demon was saying, however, his expression stayed as nonchalant and eerily smiley as ever.   
"And what, _exactly_ , do you propose on giving me in return for this deal?"

Finally stopping in front of the demon, Alastor snapped his fingers, microphone cane appearing in one of his hands, the other staying behind his back.   
"I'll let you know beforehand, money and materialistic items do not pique my interest in the slightest."

Angel could feel his chest tightening at this interaction. If the deer agreed to _any_ of this, Alastor better expect there to be no sign of the spider when he got home. The way things were sounding, if the demon proposed something good, Alastor was going to accept.

The demon was very short compared to Alastor, having to crane his neck to look up at him.  
"I don't know what I can provide the King that you don’t already have, so... I guess my soul might have to do. That's how badly I want this."  
The demon replied, seeming calm about the whole situation.

The Radio Demon's wide smile grew, static gaining in volume now, a faint old tune quietly cutting through.  
"So you'd be willing to sell your soul for a night with the famous Angel Dust?"   
He began, slowly leaning forwards, his scarlet eyes seeming even more dangerous then they had been a moment ago.   
"How... _foolish_ of you..."

Slowly taking one more step forwards, towering over the small demon even more, the antlers protruding from the top of the deer's head began to grow and grow, the sound of crackling wood mixed in with static getting louder, almost echoing in the alleyway.

The demon began to cower, taking a step back; regret starting to take hold in his eyes, but there was nothing he could do. It seemed he crossed a line and the Radio Demon wasn't having any of it.

"If you think for a _second_ that Angel Dust is even _mine_ to give away, you are greatly mistaken my good fellow. Your physical form is much too foul and grotesque for me to consume, getting what I really want out of you, so I suppose yes. Your soul will do regardless. Right here and now."

It was very rare that Alastor's antlers grew out like this, his true demonic form flickering in and out, however the Radio Demon was quietly seething. Seething at even the mere thought of this wretched demon laying a finger on Anthony.

Angel was a bit surprised at Alastor's response, not expecting such a drastic reaction. The spider started backing out of the alleyway, satisfied with the deer's answer. It was time for him to go home, make some food and get some rest.   
It didn't interest him in seeing Alastor take the soul nor to see how it played out, the sound of screams and groveling painted more than enough of an image for the arachnid.

Alastor certainly did not go lightly on the filthy demon, the screams would certainly be heard by any being close by, and the deer savored every last one of them until the demon finally fell silent.   
Ripping into the now corpses chest, Alastor gouged out the prized soul, blood dripping down his face and upper body as he blissfully consumed it; and as quick as it had all happened, it was over, the deer simply walking away from the bloodied and disfigured body of the demon as he slowly walked back through the streets of Hell, back towards his home. Whether Angel Dust was home or not, it didn't matter. Alastor knew he'd done the right thing here, and, _wow_... did it feel good for once.

It didn't take Angel long to get home, but as he was walking, he made sure to text his sister about what he'd just witnessed. She would find it interesting and maybe even work towards getting Alastor back on her good side.

The spider arrived back at the house, not a single light on inside. He didn't know when Alastor planned to be home and it didn't matter either. He was tired, hungry and really happy to have seen Alastor so adamant in making such a deal with someone. The Radio Demon's words echoing in the spider's mind.

_If you think for a second that Angel Dust is even mine to give away, you are greatly mistaken._

The house still had the faint smell of smoke but otherwise there was no hint that there was anything out of the ordinary.

Pulling the velvet coat off of his body, Angel took his phone out of the pocket before draping the heap of fabric over a chair as he passed through the dining room while on his way to the kitchen.   
Unlocking the device, he started playing some music he had put onto it earlier that day. Humming along to Ain't Misbehavin' by Benny Goodman as it played from his device, starting on something quick and simple before getting some sleep.

Alastor was silent as he returned home, the door opening for him as per usual, his footsteps quiet against the wooden flooring and blood stained his hands, however, his attention was quickly drawn away from his tainted attire at the faint sound of music that filled the home, the source coming from the kitchen.

Still, as silent as ever, snapping his fingers to get rid of his bloodstained coat, Alastor slowly waltzed his way into the kitchen, a small tired smile settling onto his face as he spied Angel by the stove, dancing away to the melody of the music.

The Radio Demon didn't know what came over him at that moment- he knew that Angel wanted space, however, he simply couldn't help himself.   
Slowly, Alastor gently wrapped his arms loosely around Angel's waist, gently swaying along to the music with him. He knew that the spider was still mad at him, but especially after what had just gone down with the demon in the alleyway, the deer wanted to be close to Angel.   
Just for this one moment.

Angel was so involved with his music that he didn't hear Alastor come in. It made him jump a bit when he felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around him, though he relaxed quickly as they swayed together to the soft music as he placed his lower set of hands over Alastor's arms gently.

The spider felt no need to speak, just enjoying the closeness and music. It had been far too long that they had a moment like this and Angel truly missed these times they had.

As soon as Alastor felt Angel relax and not immediately pull away, the deer relaxed too, a small sigh escaping his lips as the two of them swayed together in time to the soft music.

Shutting the stove off and removing the pot from the heat, the spider turned to face the deer, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as he properly embraced his love while continuing to sway with him.

He didn't care about the blood.   
He didn't care that he was supposed to be keeping his distance.   
Nothing mattered outside of this perfect tender moment between them.

The moment that the spider turned around to face the other, Alastor offered him a look that was pure admiration, his features soft for once, despite how ominous the blood splattered across his cheek was. He still cared for Angel truly, and he hoped that even though the smallest of actions like these and everything else, the message was getting across.   
Alastor embraced Angel back, one of his hands straying away from the spider's hip and instead laying around his shoulder, his legs and hips still swaying to the melody. This was truly was bliss.

Angel's tired eyes blinked slowly as he brought a hand to wipe some of the blood from Alastor's cheek before resting his head on the deer's shoulder, eyes now closing. His upper set of hands resting against Alastor's chest and the lower set around his torso. This was perfection.   
Angel's hunger was completely gone and replaced with a new hunger. One to be held and to be close to his partner.   
This was exactly what was needed after a whole day of anxiety, stress and threats.

Angel's exhaustion was taking over as they danced, words escaping his lips in the softest way possible. Words that needed to be said, otherwise his mind was going to be nagging him to say them for the rest of time.  
"I love you... Edward... and I forgive you..."

For however long they were apart, this really was making up for it in Alastor's eyes.   
Just this embrace alone was everything he ever could have wanted. And as those very few and very quiet words left Angel's lips for Alastor and _only_ Alastor to hear, the deer finally felt relief.   
Relief, warmth and most of all? _Love_.

"Anthony... I love you too... I always have."   
He whispered back just as carefully, feeling as if another huge weight had just left his entire body.   
"And I'm very relieved that you have forgiven me... you don't know how much that means to me."

One of the arachnid's hands trailed up to the deer's face, a finger finding its way to Alastor's lips to quiet him.   
"Shhhhh... just... shut up for a few minutes."  
Angel replied with the small smile growing slightly, voice just barely a whisper before burying his face into the other's neck as his hand moved back to rest against his chest.

With a small smile paired with a nod of his own, Alastor shut up as requested, letting his own head rest against Angel's shoulder.

The song slowly faded out and a new one came on. One that Angel really liked. It was a little after Alastor's time by perhaps ten years, but it was still very appropriate.

"I'll... be seein' you... in all the old familiar places..."  
Angel softly sang along into his lover's neck as they swayed to the new song.  
"That this heart of mine... embraces... all day through..."

Indeed, it was a song that Alastor wasn't familiar with, but that didn't matter at all. Just hearing Angel's gentle voice singing along to those words was more than enough to make the Radio Demon melt, his body still swaying softly along to the melody.

The spider continued to sing softly, some parts needed to be hummed as his voice became too quiet; exhaustion now kicking the shit out of him, but he was determined to stay awake. He needed to.  
He still needed to eat and take his pills.   
He needed to take in these precious moments while they happened. 

When Angel got some rest, there was no guarantee these would happen again for some time. There was still a lot of work to be done at the studios, so downtime was going to be hard to come by for a while yet.

The spider lifted his head from Alastor's shoulder and forced his eyes open as the song was drawing to a close.  
Bringing one of his upper hands up again, he cupped the deer's cheek, making sure to hold eye contact as he recited the final verses softly.

"I'll be seeing you... in every lovely summer's day. In everything that's light and gay. I'll always think of you that way. I'll find you in the morning sun... and when the night is new, I'll be looking at the moon.... but I'll be seeing you."

The smile still present on his face, Angel leaned in and placed a kiss to Alastor's forehead with a soft and content hum.

As the last verse was recited, Alastor kept his soft eye contact with Angel, his fond smile unwavering even as the gentle kiss was pressed to his forehead.

When the song soon ended, the two of them continued to sway, Alastor still holding Angel close to him. And finally, after a couple more moments of silence, the deer spoke up again, noticing the spider's exhaustion.   
"Get some sleep my love... I'll finish making your food for you and bring it up."

Angel shook his head, his grip on the Radio Demon tightening slightly.  
"I'm not ready yet... don't let me go..."  
He stated.  
His body might have been ready, but he, himself, wasn't ready to break this moment.  
"Please...?"  
Angel's voice was quiet even as he begged like his life depended on it.

Alastor was about to say something, perhaps comment on how exhausted the spider looked, however at Angel's small plea to not be let go, Alastor was quickly reminded of when he'd betrayed the arachnid, turning him in to Valentino.   
The way Angel had pleaded for none of it to be true, for Alastor to not go through with it.   
His arms tightened around his lover, keeping him close.

"I won't leave you... _ever_ again... that's my final promise to you."

Angel buried his face into Alastor's neck again, eyes closing tightly to fight back the tears.  
He wasn't sure if he could trust that in the long run even still, but because of his tired daze, he held onto that promise for the time being.  
"I'm not even hungry anymore... I just want you to hold me... Hell... I want so much that I _know_ I can't have. Not yet, at least..."

Alastor was silent, simply enjoying this soft embrace, feeling as if he was finally able to keep Angel safe while he was in his arms like this. For once and once again, he had someone to protect.

"Anything you want, mon chéri, you can have. I will hold you for as long as you desire and give you whatever you wish."

The spider shook his head a bit, staying right where he was.  
"I can't... it ain't fair to anyone. Just... take me to bed and keep holdin' me. That's all I can bring myself to ask for right now."  
Angel really did feel selfish with his desires. He didn't want to force anything onto anyone, especially Alastor.

Slowly nodding, figuring that it was maybe something that Angel should think about for a bit, Alastor easily teleported away up to his room with the spider, the two of them appearing just in front of the bed.

"Sleep, my dear. I shall stay beside you all night if you wish."   
He slowly nodded, gently pulling away out of the embrace.

He was hesitant at first, but Angel slowly released Alastor as he thanked all that was unholy that the room was dark and the deer wouldn't see the tears in his eyes.

Sitting on the bed, the spider wiped his eyes and laid himself down.  
"Please stay with me... I want you to keep me in your arms 'til I wake up..."

Previously having been almost covered in blood, with a simple snap of his fingers all of that was gone, the deer now wearing a robe as opposed to his pinstriped suit attire.

"Of course, my love."   
He whispered, gently sitting down on the other side of the bed, laying himself down as well, arms opening for Angel to lay down against his chest.

Angel took a short pause. He'd always been the one to be held, so maybe it was time to turn the tables a little and hold Alastor.

Opening his own arms and shifting onto his back, the spider pulled Alastor in.   
If he didn't like it, that would be fine. Angel just wanted to see if this was alright to do and switch the roles a little. As long as they were touching, he didn't have anything to complain about.

With Alastor's cheek in the spider's chest fluff, Angel held him close and stroked his hair lightly, just as the deer had done for him many times before.

Alastor's eyes widened a little as he was unexpectedly pulled into Angel's many arms, his cheek falling into the fluffiness of Angel's chest.   
It was... _nice_.   
Very soft and the faint beating of Angel's heart was somewhat comforting- not to mention the fingers that were then stroking through his hair were also quite soothing.

Perhaps, for once, letting Angel hold him instead of the other way round was quite nice. But even still, he managed to wrap an arm around Angel regardless, all while cuddling down into the spider's chest fluff a little.

Without a complaint voiced from Alastor and signs of compliance, Angel assumed this was okay to do. The Radio Demon had done enough for Angel in the time they have known each other, so that was something Angel wanted to do to return the favor despite Alastor mentioning many times not to worry about repaying the deeds.

Closing his eyes, Angel took a deep breath, taking in the deer's scent from its source. It was something he craved since he was left at Molly's residence all that time ago.

"You're my final answer..."  
Angel whispered softly with a small, tired smile.

"And you are mine, my Angel."

It wasn't long before Angel found himself falling into a deep, calm and restful slumber. His chest rising and falling slowly and steadily as the hand that was running through Alastor's hair came to a slow stop.

It wasn't long at all before Alastor was drifting off as well, his breathing slowing as he held Angel and Angel held him for the first time in what really was quite a while. It was relieving to know that Angel had forgiven him, Alastor supposed that was one of the many things he was worried about.

This was what they both needed.


	13. A Night of Celebration

Molly was absolutely elated after that celebratory night out. She and Stewart toasted to her brother and his freedom, and not to mention the final erasure of Valentino, something that Molly had been thrilled to watch happen.

The last few weeks had been difficult for her, after all. It was the least Stewart could have done.

"Well, I'd say that was a rather successful evening, wouldn't you agree?"  
The rabbit smiled as they entered the living space; Molly having a spring in her step, Stewart's arms stretching out as he closed the door behind them.

"Oh yeah, I couldn't have said it better myself!"   
She almost giggled, planting a kiss to her boyfriend's cheek as she strutted past him into the lounge area.

"Next time we go out, I'm sure Angel will love to go with us!"   
Wanting to wait until Stewart and Anthony officially met before revealing her brother's name to her boyfriend, she stuck with Angel for now.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea, love."  
The rabbit chuckled lightly as he followed her and sat down, Fat Nuggets hastily making its way to greet the two.   
Stewart picked the pig up and held it in his lap, scratching its head.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Do you have an idea of what you'd like to do next? I've still got some energy left if you have anything in mind."  
Stewart stated, looking to his girlfriend with a small calm twitch in his ears.

Scooting over to Stewart's side on the couch, Molly gave the little pig a small pat on his head before leaning herself on her boyfriend, her head resting against his shoulder.

"Hmm, I did have somethin' in mind for the two of us."   
She grinned a little, one of her arms raising up to Stewart's ears, poking at one of the fluffy little things.   
"And if you've got the energy, then I definitely do as well."

The rabbit's ears twitched a little more as his brow raised, looking to the spider with a hint of a smirk.

"I think I know what you're getting at, and I'm more than up for it if my readings are correct."  
He replied calmly, turning his head towards her and brought a hand to gingerly cup her cheek before placing a soft yet quick kiss to her lips.

Very quickly did Molly's grin turn into a devious smirk, laughing softly at the telltale sign of her boyfriend's ears twitching.

"Oh sugar, your 'readings' are always correct, but can you read me?"   
She giggled, Fat Nuggets jumping down off of Stewart's lap to make way for Molly instead, the spider keeping their lips softly together as she arranged herself.   
"I've had such a wonderful day, Stew... I really have."   
Molly whispered against the rabbit's lips, pulling away for a moment.

Stewart didn't try keeping the pig on his lap, hands carefully finding their way to Molly's hips instead now that she took the pig's place.

"I'm glad I could make you happy this evening, my love. Hopefully we c-"  
Steward was cut off by a ding of Molly's phone. Followed by another, and another.

"Did you forget to contact your Father today? Naughty girl."  
He chuckled lightly.

Molly was all smiles, about to lean in for another kiss when Stewart was suddenly interrupted by a series of loud dings coming from the phone in her pocket.   
Rolling her eyes with clear annoyance, she looked to her boyfriend with a frown.   
"No, I'm pretty sure I messaged him this mornin'. And a couple of hours ago. Y'can't 'naughty girl' me over that. We're not even in the bedroom yet."

Huffing once again, Molly reached into her pocket and pulled out her still dinging phone, the lock screen covered in message after message.

"Oh come on Tony, what the fuck-"   
She whispered to herself, unlocking her phone and pulling up the spam of messages consisting of just her name that her brother had been, and still was, sending her.   
She messaged back quickly.

The rabbit simply chuckled in response, leaning further back into the couch to let the spider tend to her business.  
As soon as her message was sent, there was finally a break in notification sounds shortly after.

_Molly_

_Molly_

_Disco Biscuit_

_Nolly_

_*molly_   
_Fuk_

_Molly!!!!!!!!!!_

_Tony stop!! The fuck u want??!_

_Molly!_

_Molls_

....A pause....

_M!_   
_I found evidence that Bambi is still trustworthy. Leaving the studio, I saw him going into an alley so I followed._   
_He was asked to meet and make a deal or some shit._   
_The shitbag wanted a bit of "fun" with me and Al lost his ENTIRE SHIT! I didn't see it all go down but the screams were so loud they fucking ECHOED!_   
_Hug Drug he can b TRUSTED!!!_

Molly leaned back a little herself, one set of her palms still pressed against Stewart's chest while the other typed away a response to her brother's sudden long paragraph.

She would admit, what Alastor had supposedly just done did sound... convincing, however, Molly still had every right to be skeptical. 

_Oh yeah? I guess that does sound a bit redeeming-_   
_> :( but I'm still mad at him! Whether u are or not, that's ur decision. Trustworthy still sounds like a stretch to me._

_Course I'm gunna play it off like I saw nothing and make him think he's still gotta work for it._   
_Still p pissed about what happened too  
but this just put him much closer to being on good terms again :D_

_I just don't want u to be hurt again Tony :(_   
_What if Al, I dunno, hired some lousy crumb to make a fake deal with him?_   
_And he set it up so u'd see him declining the deal just ta get on ur good side?_

_It's possible!_

_U have a point which is why I'm still gunna make him work. I ain't gunna let him jump right back in my ass._

_Keep a distance. Make sure he really does mean biz and not fukin with me. I'll test him some more and see what I can dig up from the Bambi rat hybrid_

_:) everything will b ok_

_Hmm ok. But u better know what ur getting back into! I hope it goes well._

_Oh, and I swear Tony if you send that many messages to me again >:(_

_I'm a lil busy with Stew right now. You fuckin cock blocker. Get lost :(((_

_O shit srry M. got excited. :0_   
_go get that bunny D grl. Runty shit will scram now >;)_

_have fun doll face! <3_

_AND USE PROTECTION U HOE (kiddin love ya)_

_U know it sgr!_   
_And don't b funny, no 1 even sells that shit down here haha! Love ya too A <333_

With that the messages finally ceased.   
Stewart sat patiently, watching Molly's expressions curiously. She seemed to be having an intense conversation with whoever it was texting her.

He waited in silence to make sure he didn't distract her from her brief distraction.

Once their short conversation was over, Molly quickly placed her phone away on the table in front of the couch before turning back to Stew.

"Sorry babe, Angel simply _had_ to tell me what had just happened in his life."   
She laughed, bringing a hand up to run softly through the rabbit's dark hair.   
"But now that's over, I'm all yours for the taking. No distractions, hopefully, no disasters, just us."

"Not to worry. It just gave me more time to admire my sweet spider."  
The rabbit replied, leaning into her hand a bit as he brought a hand up to run his own fingers through her hair in return.

Leaning forward, he began peppering kisses to Molly's cheeks and down her neck.  
"All of my attention will stay on you and you alone, my sweet doll."  
Stewart hummed between kisses before his hands found their way to her rear, standing suddenly and started carrying her to the bedroom.

Molly was practically jelly in Stewart's arms, swooning left right and center at the kisses to her neck and just the way he held her as they made their way to the bedroom.

As she was being carried, Molly wrapped a set of arms around the rabbit's neck, lower set still pressed to his chest affectionately.

"Stew, how can you be so damn perfect?"   
She asked with a laugh, not letting go of her boyfriend even as he laid her down on the bed.

The rabbit's head tilted to the right, ears flopping along as he smiled down at her while loosening his tie.  
"I hardly think of myself to be perfect, but I'm somewhat glad my efforts give that illusion."  
Laying on top of Molly now, Stewart connected their lips quickly once again as he began to unbutton his lover's blouse carefully.

Grinning widely up at the rabbit, Molly brought one of her arms to the knot of Stewart's tie, slowly loosening it some more and pulling it off, beginning on unbuttoning his shirt.   
"Ah shush, you're absolutely perfect to me, sugar~"   
Whispering, she gently pulled the other down into yet another kiss, still managing to undo Stewart's shirt with her eyes closed.

Tilting his head to the side, Stewart deepened the kiss as he snaked an arm around Molly's waist and pressed their bodies flush against each other.

Molly's head naturally tilted in the opposite direction to Stewart's, the two of them fitting together like a perfect puzzle as the spider managed to get the rabbits shirt off, throwing it somewhere in the room, one of her hands tangling in the softy flat fluff of her boyfriend's chest. As for her own shirt, it quickly came off as Stewart unbuttoned it, her own fluffy bust being exposed.

Stewart greatly appreciated Molly's words and feelings towards him.   
It seemed like they were the perfect match, and it was almost a wonder why it took so long for them to finally find one another after being in the same place as each other for so long.

He supposed it was fate. A matter of being in the right place at the right time. And he was grateful- Molly was truly a wonderful being.


	14. To Prove One's Self

The more Angel went into the porn studios, the more he warmed up to the job.   
It was a whole other world when you were running the place and not imprisoned there.   
In fact, he liked it so much, he decided to take on the workload and keep it running. Vox was pretty stupid outside of the tech and media portion anyways, so the business was going to crumble regardless. Another perk to taking the job, Angel now owned all of Valentino's property, turf, funds, so on and so forth, meaning the building was now his, all of the money was now his, and he'd made a few contracts with now employees. There weren't many yet, but the numbers were rising fairly quickly the more the jobs were advertised.

It was going to take a while before everything was perfectly operational again, but that was to be expected with the new system the arachnid started.   
It was just amazing how _stupid_ Valentino was in running the place.

Angel knew he was disorganized under the surface, but even what he saw before was nothing compared to the actual disaster that spread to the very roots of the industry.  
It was going to take a long while to get it all sorted and to the new overlord's liking.

Angel sat in the living room, scrolling the news for anything of interest while taking a day off after a week and a half of nonstop work.   
During that time, Nothing seemed to happen to Angel in terms of inheriting any of Valentino's powers; which wasn't much of a disappointment, if he was honest.   
All Valentino was really able to do was control and manipulate the minds of lesser beings than himself and it turned out that he was always exposing his full demon form.   
He truly wasn't a demon to be feared, which made Angel feel rather stupid for fearing the piece of shit. 

It had been quite a while since the duo had that special moment in the kitchen, dancing away to the music; the two of them unsurprisingly hadn't had any time together since then. What with Angel running the porn studios now and Alastor's usual work as King, free time seemed scarce.

However, it seemed that finally, after the twelve days had passed, a day or two aligned where the two of them had some shared downtime.

Alastor slowly waltzed into the lounge, arms folded behind his back as per usual as he looked to Angel, taking a seat in his usual armchair.   
"I hear you have the next week off? Why you deserve the rest, my dear!"   
The deer smiled, crossing a leg over the other.

The spider glanced up to the Radio Demon, giving him a smile as he took his usual seat. Today was going to be a good day for quite a few reasons.

"I'll have to go in once in a while to make sure circuit board ain't fuckin' shit up too badly, but yeah! One week free of bullshit!"  
The spider exclaimed with a wide grin.   
"Today's an especially good day though. I'm officially off those pills. All without withdrawal."  
He added, reaching a hand out to the deer.

As soon as that news was voiced, Alastor's smile grew all the more.   
He knew how hard the withdrawal had been for Angel the first time after going cold turkey with those horrid narcotics, so for him to be able to ease himself off of them completely this time around, Alastor could imagine how much better Angel felt about it.

"Why that's excellent news my dear! Truly, I am relieved that you are finished with those for good!"   
The deer congratulated, reaching out for Angel's hand and giving it a little warm squeeze in return.   
"I had no doubt in my mind that you'd be able to do it!"

The spider grinned and entwined their fingers. This was the first real sign of affection they were able to really give each other since that night nearly two weeks prior.  
"Couldn't have done any of this without ya."  
He hummed.  
"But it does feel really great to be free of them again without all that added pain and shit."

With a small sigh, the arachnid set his phone aside completely to give Alastor his full attention.  
"Got any plans for today?"

Nodding, Alastor smiled down at their intertwined fingers. He supposed he was just glad that they could have this again.

"No, I do not have anything planned for the next three days!"   
He grinned, a quiet laugh track playing behind his words.   
"I shall simply take this time to rest and indulge in some of my hobbies I think."  
After all, hobbies were an especially good thing to have down in Hell to pass the time of, well, an eternity.

Angel tilted his head slightly, looking down at their hands as well.   
"That's good. I was actually wondering if maybe we could talk about something."  
His eyes trailed up to Alastor's, wondering if he should even mention what was on his mind.

It was what he saw in the alley that night; and also his sudden need to be in the deer's arms. He knew he said he'd take his time with it all, but he really wanted to embrace what they had been before the whole mess came into play. Because they had this time together, now seemed like a good time.

Alastor watched Angel's gaze as he slowly made eye contact with the deer, their hands still staying intertwined as Alastor uncrossed his leg, switching over to the other.   
"Of course. I am all ears, dear."

Alastor was at least glad that Angel had said that. Said that he wanted to talk about something. Because that meant there was at least some trust there and hopefully it would grow in time.

Angel adjusted his position and took a breath. How was he supposed to word this?   
_'Yeah I followed you into an alley and saw you go insane on someone who asked for sex with me'._  
That would go over well.   
Shit...

"I know it ain't my business and I probably shouldn't have followed..."  
He began, starting to regret this all together.

Alastor wracked his brain a moment, eyes trailing off of Angel as he tried to think of what the spider could be talking about.

"Go on?"   
The deer pressed, genuinely curious now as to what Angel could have seen that made him sound so hesitant with his words.

Whatever Angel had to say, Alastor hoped that by now the spider knew that he wouldn't get mad or remotely upset for that matter.

The spider's mismatched eyes seemed to wander a bit, a lump in his throat suddenly formed that stopped his words altogether.   
No. It wasn't any of his business in the first place.

"Never mind. Don't worry about it."  
He finally breathed out, keeping the smile on his face.  
"Since we got some time together, ya wanna bring the piano up? I wanna see what I remember."  
Hopefully that was enough of a distraction to save him.

Alastor let a small frown settle onto his face at Angel's sudden diversion from the topic at hand, however, the deer didn't dwell on it for long.   
If Angel didn't want him to, then Alastor certainly wasn't going to.

"Why, the piano sounds like an excellent idea!"   
Letting go of the arachnid's hand and clapping his hands together, Alastor quickly stood.

However... this whole thing did make him think. If Angel didn't see Alastor as someone he could fully trust, then that was quite the issue. It meant that Alastor was really going to have to up his game in gaining Angel's trust again.   
And at that moment, as he stood from his chair, the Radio Demon had a thought... there was _one_ thing he could do to prove himself. One thing that he knew would be able to convey his dedication to Angel Dust. To Anthony.

Angel breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He was in the clear. For now.   
If he'd known anything about the Radio Demon, it was that he was a curious man and once a topic was brought up that he genuinely took interest in, he was going to pry that box wide open and get the answers he wanted.   
It was a bit of a scary thought, but Angel wasn't about to complain. He was safe for the time being so he had time to make something up for when the time came.

Watching as Alastor stood, the spider folded his hands in his lap and stayed seated so the deer could bring the piano up without being in the way.   
This was something he wanted to do again, so it wasn't a total loss.

Humming, Alastor took a look around the room and snapped his fingers, his own chair and the table in front suddenly moving against the back wall, creating space for the piano.   
Snapping his fingers once again, the usual black portal appeared on the floor just in front of Alastor, the piano slowly rising up through it from the basement and finally, settling in the ground, the Radio Demon snapping his fingers once more, the void closing.

Angel never got tired of how graceful and effortless Alastor made his powers look. Surely none of it was easy.

"Show me what you've got, my dear!"  
The deer chimed, turning to the spider as he brushed a small amount of dust off of the stool.

Standing from his spot on the couch, Angel didn't hesitate in walking over to the piano as Alastor moved to lean against the instrument, his eyes watching where Angel's hands moved to upon the ivory keys.

"Been a while. Hopefully I remember somethin'."  
He chuckled lightly to himself as he pressed one. The sound emitted and made the spider smile all the more; for whatever reason.

Perhaps it was the memory of the two of them sitting here, bonding over some silly instrument that Angel didn't know much of anything about.   
All of the mistakes he made during that lesson and the frustrated shudders of disapproval that ran through Angel's body when he fucked up note after note.

Alastor wanted that again, and whether he was selfish to want that, he didn't know.

"It's all about muscle memory my dear, let your hands play for you."

With a nod, the spider started hitting random keys in attempts to navigate his way to the one he was looking for.  
Once finding the note, Angel started slowly playing the song they practiced all that time ago. However he stopped. One of the notes registered as another song he knew of.

"Wait a minute-"  
He muttered, starting to look for the second note that went along to the song he was thinking of.

Alastor silently watched as Angel pressed and hit the different keys of the piano until he found the desired ones, a small smile hitching up the corners of the deer's lips as he witnessed this.   
He remembered attempting to teach Angel how to read sheet music, however playing by ear seemed much more the spider's style, which was fine he supposed.

When Angel finally got some sort of tune going, Alastor let his thoughts wander for a moment, thinking back to the solution he'd come up with in regards to fully gaining Angel's trust; and now that he started thinking about it... he couldn't stop.   
It was an excellent idea if he did say so himself, however, it required dedication.

"Carry on playing, my dear, I won't be a moment."   
Alastor called over the music, and just like that, he'd teleported to another part of the house- more specifically, to the bookshelves in the basement.

Angel gave a nod, pausing in his playing to grab his phone. He needed to look up a tutorial or something to remember how it all went. He managed to get the basics but wanted to do it perfectly before adding the lyrics.

It was a song he thought fit his and Alastor's situation... and if he could learn the song by the end of their few days together, hopefully, it would be enough to convey even a hint of how he was feeling.

Angel continued with his learning, doing his best not to get too frustrated with the process. It was slow and he'd have to stop to check and make sure his fingers were on the right keys constantly.   
This was proving harder than he first thought, but he was determined to get it right.   
If Alastor didn't appreciate it in the end, he'd be _really_ upset.

Some digging around was required, however, Alastor knew the book was somewhere. He hadn't necessarily ever read it through properly, but now with a reason to? He would.   
And finally, towards the very back of one of the shelves, Alastor pulled out the hefty book, its cover engraved in patterns that were usually associated with Hell and the underworld in general. 

Flipping to the first page, small amounts to dust rising into the air, Alastor grinned.   
_Perfect_.

With the book in hand, the Radio Demon quickly skimmed through the first few pages, nodding softly to himself at the information it was providing him.   
Yes, this would prove useful indeed.

Slamming the book closed with one hand, more dust flying up into the air, Alastor just like that had appeared back up in the lounge again, leaning against the piano as he listened in to what Angel was playing.   
"Sounds awfully melancholy, my dear. But you have clearly improved!"

Angel's cheeks filled with air as he slowly exhaled, keeping his eyes down on the keys as he stopped playing.

"I'm really tryin'..."  
The spider sighed, now looking to Alastor.  
"Whatcha got there? Gunna try sheet music again?"  
He asked, taking note of the book the deer was carrying.

Smile widening just that bit more, Alastor opened the heavy book up on the first page, passing it over to Angel and laying it on the piano keys in front of him; the piano sounding as the keys were weighed down by the book.   
"Tadaa! Quite the entertaining little book this is, oh yes indeedy!"   
It was clear that, from this book alone, the deer was quite excited already.

"I am going to take you somewhere, Angel. However, you must not object nor ask too many questions."

The spider's brows shot up as he removed his hands out of the way, looking down at the book.

This.... what the fuck is this?

"Al, I can't read this."  
He stated, tone a little annoyed as he picked the thick book up and turned it every which way to see if it was upside down or something. There were few illusions but they only escalated the confusion.

"What the fuck language even is this? Looks like scribbles from a one-year-old with OCD..."  
Angel added, turning the pages a bit to see if there were any other hints as to what it was, but unfortunately there were none.

Alastor's grin stayed static as he watched Angel try and make sense of the book in front of him, more dust rising into the air as the spider spun the book around in attempts to make sense of the foreign language it had been written in.   
"Yes, you cannot read it, I am very aware. Never mind the language my dear, it's quite ancient."

Taking the book off of Angel's hands and closing it, letting it rest under one of his arms, Alastor turned back to the other.   
"We shall be leaving fairly shortly."

Angel pursed his lips together into a thin line, brows furrowing as he looked up at the deer.  
"Excuse me, _sir_ , but I'm in the middle of tryin' to make shit music. Unless ya tell me where we're goin', I'm stayin' right here."

Angel then turned his attention back to the piano, trying the melody again, however, he messed up the third chord and immediately stood.  
"I'm ready now. Let's go."  
He huffed, walking away from the piano.

Alastor was just about to turn away, perhaps continue to read over the book while Angel continued practicing his music, however, the moment that the spider then stood, the deer paused.

"Haha, excellent!"   
He replied joyfully, the book still under one of his arms.   
"I do believe the destination is quite a ways away, so I shall have us teleported there in no time at all!"

Angel took a breath to calm himself from the bit of rage directed at the piano before turning his full attention to Alastor again.  
"Will I need to bring anything?"  
He asked, straightening his button-up shirt a bit.

He was wondering what this book and their destination had to do with each other. He wanted to ask but Alastor asked for the questions to be kept to a minimum.

Alastor thought about it for a moment, going back to the first few pages of the book he'd read just moments ago.   
"Just bringing yourself will do."   
He explained, already making his way towards the door now that Angel had said he was ready to go.

Angel gave a nod and tucked his phone into his pocket as he followed Alastor.  
"I'm I allowed to know where we're goin' or what we're doin'? Those are my main questions. Everything else I think I can hold back."

Angel wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. Nervous? Scared? Happy? Because right now, it was strictly just nerves.

Since they weren't walking there, as soon as Alastor got to the door he stopped, turning around to face the spider.   
"You shall see momentarily where we are going, and what we are doing is a question I cannot answer for now."

He could tell that Angel was looking a little nervous, but he had no need to. If anything, Alastor was the one who should have been feeling that way. But it was certainly in Angel's best interest that the deer didn't inform him of why they were going where they were.

Angel audibly gulped before giving a nod. He tried telling himself that everything was going to be fine. Alastor wouldn't hurt him.   
But...   
What if it wasn't?   
What if he would?   
What then?

Reaching out to the deer, Angel took hold of his arm and prepared himself for the worst.  
"Let's go then..."

Alastor's eyes narrowed a little more at Angel's audible gulp, a clear indication of the spider's nervousness and maybe even... his fear? Alastor certainly hoped not.

As soon as Angel grabbed his arm, the Radio Demon's home grew silent, the two of them suddenly appearing in an unfamiliar and quite desolate part of Hell. No one was around, and the only light was from Hell's sky natural crimson glow.

Angel closed his eyes tightly, the only sound being Alastor's radio static. If he thought everything was silent before, the spider's ears were probably bleeding from how quiet it was now. His grip on Alastor tightened slightly, opening his eyes slowly.

He didn't know what to expect, but this definitely wasn't it. There was literally _nothing_. Empty landscape. Not a hint of life anywhere. That is until the spider took a better look around at their new surroundings.

Now spying a small... house? Was that a house? It looked more like a shack... then again, it was in the distance and with the way things were out here- wherever _here_ even _was_ \- it could have been bigger.

"Al? Where are we...?"

Alastor took a moment to look around at their environment, eyes adjusting to the sudden darkness. It was as the deer's gaze settled upon the small shack in the distance that his smile widened.   
Yes, he had brought them to the correct place without a doubt in his mind.

"We're on the very outer circle of Hell, the furthest West you can go if you must know."   
He explained, summoning his microphone to use as a cane to begin walking with.   
"And that shack over there in the distance is our destination."

Angel's chest began tightening, even more, his breathing now near not existent. The spider dug his phone from his pocket and looked at it. As he thought. No bars of service.  
This couldn't be good...

Angel took hold of Alastor's arm again as they walked.   
"Can ya tell me I ain't gunna die and mean it? 'Cause- holy shit I'm really feelin' those vibes right now-"

As Angel voiced his suspicions out loud to Alastor, the deer began to loudly laugh, his voice practically echoing around the nothingness of this environment.   
"You? Haha, no no no, my dear. If anyone has anything to worry about, then it is certainly me!"   
He chuckled lightheartedly, twirling his microphone around a little.  
"You really think that someone like me would kill you? Well, you have a perfectly good point, however no. I have no intention of killing you."

Angel needed a moment to process what was said to him. This was all the more concerning.

"What? What are you talkin' about? Why should _you_ be worried? Alastor what are you doing?"  
He knew he wasn't supposed to ask questions but he couldn't help himself.   
If Angel knew Alastor was going to be hurt in any way, he wouldn't have agreed to any of this.

"Al no, let's go back home. I don't want anyone gettin' hurt."  
Now he was trying to pull Alastor back and away from their supposed destination.

Alastor sighed gently not ceasing in walking towards the shack that was slowly getting closer and closer.   
"My dear, if I wanted to stay at home, then I wouldn't have come here in the first place. There's no need to worry, I perhaps overexaggerated."

However, in actuality, perhaps Alastor was playing it down much more than he should have been doing, for Angel's sake. There was a reason he didn't explain where they were going and what he was doing, purely because he knew that Angel would try and talk him out of it, or simply not come along.

Angel stayed tense but was a little more compliant. He knew that Alastor wasn't going to stop now no matter what was said or what actions were taken.  
He could only hope that everything would turn out okay and no one would get too hurt.

As they approached the small shack, the door flung open, the shadow of a cloaked being greeting them with glowing yellow eyes.

This caused Angel to jump a bit and move back.

The being moved forward and started removing the faded brown hood from their head. A pair of black and white horns were immediately visible along with a red complexion. An imp wrapped in small golden chains that had ancient pendants dangling from them; and long white hair looked up between the two demons with narrowed eyes, tall wooden staff in hand.

"I thought..."  
The imp spoke quietly at first; voice old and gruff, pausing before raising his staff to the two and shaking it.  
"I thought I told you hoodlums to stay off my lawn!"  
He then yelled, walking up to Angel and Alastor.

When they got close enough to the shack and the door flung open, Alastor made no move to flinch away, instead, standing his ground, keeping long eye contact with the imp as the creature began walking up to the both of them, yelling some nonsense.

Angel moved to stand behind the Radio Demon as they were approached seeing as he wasn't giving any hints that he was going to move.

"Why, hello there my good fellow!"   
Alastor finally spoke, taking a small step to the side as the imp came up close to them.   
"We are not here to disturb your lawn, worry not!"

The imp raised his staff to Alastor's face, who still didn't move a muscle.  
"Best not, sonny! Anyways, I've been expecting you two. Get inside. I don't have all day to dilly dally!"  
The imp stated as he turned to waddle back inside, seeming to expect them to follow.

"You're kidding, right?"  
Angel whispered, looking to Alastor with concern.

Looking across to Angel as he spoke, Alastor just shrugged, beginning to follow the imp towards the entrance.   
"Why of course I'm not kidding! He said he was expecting us, did he not?"   
Alastor just laughed, presuming himself that Angel was following behind him as he entered the seemingly small shack.

Angel did follow Alastor inside, not daring to let go of him.

"Now then, what are you two youngins here for? You're pretty lost, aren't you? Coming out this far-"  
The imp quizzed as he brought them further into the small structure, his statement contradicting his last.  
It seemed smaller from the outside, but as the imp lit more candles, the place just became scarier to Angel.

Alastor huffed a quiet laugh out at the term 'youngins' being used for them, not bothering to correct the imp seeing as this being was far older than the two of them combined. In fact, he was nearly as old as Hell itself.

There were knives and tools lining the walls, something that looked like an operating table, workbenches that looked like they hadn't been used in centuries lined with more questionable tools and empty baskets.

Angel's grip on Alastor tightened, eyes darting around the small area as his insides started knotting. His focus had been taken away from what was being said and instead brought to the terrifying environment.

Upon looking around the interior of the shack, Alastor raised a slight brow at all the equipment inside. Rather fascinating if you asked him.

"Oh, I have a feeling you already know why we're here."   
Snapping his fingers, the heavy book that Alastor had been carrying earlier, suddenly appeared in the Radio Demon's arms, the pages flicking open by themselves to the page that Alastor was most interested in.   
"I have come for this. I know you're the only being down here that can do this for me."

The imp stopped, looking at the book Alastor had. His yellow eyes narrowed as he skimmed the pages before looking up at the Radio Demon.

"That's a dangerous thing to do, y'know. Only royals and overlords can do things like this."  
The old imp stated before looking to Angel, who looked scared as all hell.  
"This one doesn't even know what's happening."  
He added before walking over to one of the empty baskets, pulling a small stick-like thing from his pocket. A light illuminated the end of the object and he started digging through the baskets.  
It may have looked like nothing was inside, but there was a sound coming from the movement. Almost like glass beads.

Alastor raised his chin, his own eyes narrowing as he nodded.   
"Yes, I am aware of that factor."   
It was a rather rare thing to ask for down here, not to mention the process was... quite difficult; so it was no surprise that only royals and overlords could acquire the end product.

"I admit I failed to mention to Angel here what exactly is going on. Purely because I know, my dear, that you would stop me before I could even leave my own home."   
Turning his attention over to Angel, Alastor offered him a small smile before looking back over to the imp and what he was doing.

Angel gave Alastor a disapproving glare but said nothing.

"Angel? Heh, ironic to have such a name down in a place like this, wouldn't you say? Anyways, you might want to. This may be the last thing you say to each other. I'm sure you know that."  
The imp stated, his tone serious for once as he seemed to skim through the invisible contents of the basket before finding whatever he was looking for; setting the small objects on a platter of some sort.

"You better fuckin' explain, Al."  
Angel muttered through clenched teeth, stare almost as venomous as his bite.

Alastor gave a small sigh, nodding more to himself as he took into account both the imp's words and Angel's request for an explanation.

"I know that you don't trust me fully after what I did, my dear. And that's fine, I know that it's going to take some time. But if there's one thing that I don't want, then it's for you to be afraid of me. I want you to be able to look me in the eyes and tell me anything that's on your mind without a worry that I will be upset or unreasonable in any way."   
He began slowly, having to clear his throat after that last part.   
"Because I love you, Anthony. And I want you to trust me again... that's why I want to give you something that will hopefully convey not only the trust that I have for you, but also... the love. I am quite literally giving a part of my soul to you."

Angel shook his head a bit in disbelief after a moment of processing, something he seemed to need to do constantly today.   
Was this because he steered the topic to something else earlier? If it was, that was pretty stupid in Angel's opinion. But at the same time, it... really meant a lot.

"Al, I don't want this. I don't want you puttin' your fuckin' life on the line. I get ya love me and all, and believe me, I think it's really sweet. But this is way too much."   
The spider sighed, eyes trailing down for a moment.  
"But I also know y'got your mind made up... I can't stop you."

Alastor slowly shook his head as well, his large toothy grin turning into something a little softer while the imp's back was turned to them.   
"Even if you didn't love me back, I would still do this for you. For trust."

The Radio Demon knew that this process was one of the highest forms of a bond that one could make down in Hell. That was why there were virtually no demons who had done this- trust was rare here. Much less from either a royal or an overlord.

Angel's face started to fade from concern to sadness as he brought his upper set of hands to cup Alastor's cheeks while the lower set grabbed his hands.

"That's probably the stupidest thing you've ever said... I do love you, Ed... If this is because I changed the subject back at home, I-"

Alastor gently took Angel's hands in his own, giving them a small squeeze, his regular smile pushing up onto his face as they were interrupted by the imp.

"Yes yes it's all very sweet and lovely but the clock is ticking and my program is going to be on soon."  
The imp tutted and started pushing Alastor over to the dingey table. There was dried blood coating it from who knows how long ago.

It was curious, what the old coot was even talking about. Unless he had a television or radio stashed away somewhere, there was no hint of any form of technology anywhere. Not to mention the fact that being this far out in the middle of nowhere posed an issue with connections. Angel's hell phone didn't get signal, so radio or television would obviously have issues.

Angel was quick to follow as the imp used his staff to knock Alastor's feet from under him, intending for the deer land back onto the table.

Clearing his throat once again as the imp began to push him towards the obviously blood-stained table, the deer almost being knocked over by the staff, however, ceased to fall back; clawed hands belonging to the Radio Demon's shadow holding him steady.

"You need only ask me to lay down."   
Alastor replied calmly, waving his shadow.

The imp raised a brow as the Radio Demon was saved.   
"Oh, you expect the _royal_ treatment, do you? Well, in that case- lay down, _your highness._ "  
The old man hopped up onto a stool and took another sweep at Alastor's ankles with the staff.  
The imp began looking through the bookshelf that was situated next to the table.

Alastor simply rolled his eyes at the imp's response, ignoring the sudden hit to his ankles. There would be far worse pain to come. The deer laid himself down, his eyes staying on the ceiling of the shack.

Angel made sure to stay by Alastor's side, concern laced into his expression as his eyes stayed on the deer.  
"Walk me through this. How's it work? What do I need to expect?"

Once the imp walked away, Alastor turned back to Angel, offering his best sort of reassuring smile.   
"Well, first of all my soul is going to be exposed, and then a piece will then be removed and fused with a stone. Of course, I'll be closed up again and all will be as it was. Simple, my dear you have nothing to worry about. Just know, that my form may seem... off slightly- but it's still me. I promise."

Angel's eyes trailed down to Alastor's chest, the imp coming back for a moment and tapping a long bony finger against the deer's chest with a nonchalant hum.

"Remove any clothes you don't want to be ruined, sonny."  
The imp instructed before making his way back to the workbench. 

Alastor quietly did as he was told, snapping his fingers to remove his pinstriped jacket. Everything else he was wearing was expendable.

"I take it you'll be the only one doing this? Or will it be both of you?"  
He asked as he gathered some more supplies.

Angel's eyes stayed on Alastor, answering without hesitation; or before he had time to process and filter his thoughts more like.  
"I'm doin' it too."

Alastor was just about to speak up to confirm that it would just be him that the spider butt in, the deer's eyes widening in the slightest. He had certainly not prepared for that.


	15. The Ultimate Bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore and fluffy cuteness ahead. No spice or steam.

"Angel, you can't-"   
However Alastor was interrupted by one of Angel's fingers pressed to his lips, causing the deer to stop.

Thinking about that for a moment. Technically speaking... the arachnid _had_ met all the requirements to be classed as an overlord down in Hell, safe for having stolen a large number of souls, but that was more or less for clout than anything.

Not only had Angel killed and consumed the soul of a preexisting overlord, but he'd also pretty much taken on Valentino's career as a whole, becoming the face of the booming industry that was porn; and with all of Valentino's possessions, belongings and inheritance in hand, that _also_ meant Angel had rightful ownership all of the previous sleaze lord's turf too- which was a hell of a lot.   
Plus, if Alastor wasn't mistaken, then Angel had already began to form contracts and deals of his own with employees.

So that, as the rules went, meant that yes. Angel Dust _was_ an overlord.

"You shut up. You dragged me here without tellin' me shit just to have me sit back and watch you pretty much die just to show me how much you love me. News flash, genius. I love you just as much and wanna do the same thing for you."  
The spider explained, glaring at the deer before looking back to the imp.

" _Both of us_ are doing this."

Alastor supposed there really was no use arguing with Angel. The two of them were extremely stubborn.

This made the old man chuckle.  
"Two souls in one day? I haven't had this much luck since Lucifer and Lilith!"  
He exclaimed.  
"Those two really put up a fight, let me tell you."  
He added, shaking his head as he brought a tray of tools over to the table that Alastor was laying on, climbing up to stand on the stool again.   
With a hum, the imp began strapping Alastor down with both leather and chain, starting with his ankles, then his waist, wrists, neck and head.

"Open that shirt for me and say any last words."  
He instructed Angel, who took a breath and started loosening the tie that sat around the deer's neck and unbuttoned the shirt.

"I followed you that night, Edward. Some lowlife asked ya to make a deal for some time with me and ya lost your shit. I didn't stick around to see it for myself, but the sounds were more than enough for me to know ya went fuckin' insane..."  
Angel stated as he carefully opened Alastor's shirt completely and set the tie aside, the scars that covered his body ever-present and now exposed to the cold air.  
"That's what I wanted to talk about back home. I wanted to tell you that I was ready for things to go back to how they were."

Alastor quietly listened to what he had to say, somewhat relieved that it wasn't anything bad that Angel had witnessed.

"My dear, if I had known you were there, I would have invited you to join in. You're beautifully brutal when you want to be."   
The deer huffed with a gentle laugh.

"Ya let me have Valentino. I figured I'd be nice and let ya have that pathetic little thing."  
The spider couldn't help but give a small laugh of his own before leaning down and kissing Alastor's forehead.

Alastor would have taken the opportunity to perhaps pull Angel in for an embrace, or the very least, cup his cheek, however with his arms tied down, that wasn't exactly possible.

The imp was in the midst of sharpening one of the knives and making sure that everything was set, yellow eyes observing the two.

"Anything you'd like to say, boy?"  
He asked, bringing his finger to the Radio Demon's sternum again.

"Do I have anything to say?"   
Alastor repeated, his tone still calm as he looked up into Angel's eyes.   
"Just that I love you, Anthony."   
And that was all.   
The Radio Demon knew that he was strong and he hoped he'd get through this. Once again, for Angel's sake.

"I love you too, Edward. And I swear if you fuckin' die on me, I'll bring ya back and kill ya myself."  
The spider replied, leaning down again to place a kiss to Alastor's lips. The first since forever ago- and maybe even the last.

Laughing a little, Alastor was almost caught off guard at the kiss to the lips but appreciated it nonetheless. It meant a lot. 

"Now then. Your job-"  
The elderly imp pointed to Angel.  
"Is to keep talking to him. Keep him calm. The soul is going to try to protect itself so it's important you keep talking. Sweet nothings, happy memories, what have you."

Angel nodded and took a breath. This was going to be something he'd never forget. He could see why this wasn't a common practice.   
It was terrifying; but if it was successful, the outcome was going to be beautiful.

Angel made sure to keep himself positioned where he was looking down over Alastor, staying in his line of sight.  
"It's gunna be okay."  
He said quietly, telling himself this more than anyone else.

Alastor took a small breath, breathing in deeply for a moment and then slowly exhaling. He'd read part of the book so he knew what was coming. Souls of overlords, when the body it lived in was still alive, were truly nasty things.

"The quicker it is done, the quicker it will be over with."

Before Alastor could even breathe from finishing his sentence, the imp plunged the blade into the center of Alastor's upper chest with a loud crack as it broke into his chest cavity, slowly pulling it downwards a few inches.

Angel's jaw clenched, not daring to pull his eyes away from Alastor's, not wanting to see his lover be mutilated in front of him.

As soon as the sharp blade was plunged into Alastor's body, the natural static that was in the air surrounding him abruptly cut out, the deer wincing uncomfortably, his nose scrunching slightly and teeth clenched. It wasn't extremely bad in comparison to some things he'd endured, however, it certainly was uncomfortable.

Painfully, the blade was pulled down, dark black blood quickly pooling around the wound and dripping down the deer's torso and onto the table below.   
Alastor's breathing became a little more labored and difficult, the demon now pushing greatly against the straining restraints. His body was slowly beginning to realize that this intrusion of a knife was out for its soul.

Angel cupped Alastor's cheeks, eyes watering as he saw the blood from the corner of his eye.   
"Doin' okay?"  
The spider asked, voice almost cracking.   
Alastor didn't seem to be having much trouble, but Angel knew there was a lot that he managed to bury and hide behind that smile he always wore.

The imp grabbed a tool from the side table and crammed it into the fresh wound before cranking it to pry the Radio Demon's chest open, deafening cracks of bones and muscle tissue ripping sounding in the air.

Alastor's eyes had closed slightly, the deer flinching a little as he felt his cheeks being cupped. Slowly opening his eyes, Alastor's eyes once again looked down at the wound as the next tool was being violently forced into place, even more of the Radio Demon's thick black blood rolling down his chest and pooling on the table beneath him.

As he felt his chest cavity being pried open, Alastor loudly ground his teeth together, parts of the room around them beginning to glitch out against his will as finally, the static started to gain in volume again, getting increasingly louder with every agonizing second.

"This is where it's going to get rough. Keep him focused."   
The imp instructed as a dark green glow became visible from inside the cavity.

Angel did his best to stay in Alastor's line of vision to keep him distracted.   
"Ed, keep your eyes on me. Remember the beach? Remember how _beautiful_ the moon was and the sound of the waves?"  
He didn't know what he was supposed to say to keep Alastor calm, so he was just going off of memories that he thought were special to the both of them.

The glow that suddenly began to light up the room caught the spider's attention from the corner of his eyes, to which he couldn't help but glance down at the source of the ominous glow. 

Alastor's soul. 

From what he could see of it, the soul was as black as the night sky with something that looked like a dark green wispy cloud of light rolling around inside.

The spider brought his eyes back up to meet Alastor's; making sure their eyes stayed locked.

Something that sounded almost inhuman left Alastor's lips with a roar, the small antlers on the top of his head growing a lot larger than they usually did upon his more demonic side taking over, the sound of creaking and crackling wood sounding loudly.   
His pupils were now entirely radio dials, parts of the room glitching more aggressively.

The imp had said it would be difficult, and even as Angel whispered sweet nothings to him, the Radio Demon simply didn't respond. His already claw-like fingers seemed to grow larger, scratching at the table below him, black blood staining most of Alastor's body now; and as for his soul? It was erratic, pulsating with a mind of its own, almost lashing out as it tried its hardest to burrow back into its owners chest.

And then came the screams.   
Not from Alastor, but strangely from the soul itself. Mixing in with the mind-numbing white noise already in the air, came scream after scream, some cutting off into static, others continuing on and on, eventually being drowned out by others.   
Both the imp and Angel's attention was elsewhere, but if they'd looked at the walls of the structure's interior during those moments, they would have seen the haunting shadow-like outlines of twisted demons circling the walls; the souls that Alastor had taken and consumed for himself, their final screams and wails eerily projecting into the room.

Seemingly unaffected by the new developments in Alastor's being, the imp continued on with his work, picking up a pair of tweezers and a small set of scissors.  
Angel on the other hand? Angel was tearing up. He hadn't seen his lover like this. He'd seen hints from afar, but never this close; and the screams were all the more terrifying in themselves- Angel trying to block those out.

"Edward, please, I'm right here. You're okay. Nothing's gunna happen to ya, I promise."  
Angel stated, trying to stay as calm as he could. One of the spider's upper hands stayed on Alastor's cheek while one of his lower hands held the Radio Demon's despite his claws scratching away at the table.

As soon as a small piece of the soul was pinched with the small instrument, the imp froze as a look of pure terror suddenly filled his glowing yellow eyes. If you looked closely, you'd be able to see a brief flash of every sin of Alastor's life and afterlife, but Angel was still too focused on the deer himself.

The elder's frozen state lasted no more than thirty seconds, his composure returning as he began to chant in some sort of ancient language, quickly snipping the tiniest piece of the soft black and green soul free; letting go of the rest of it. The soul burrowing itself deeper into Alastor's chest and behind his exposed heart.  
Making sure the fragment didn't fall onto the floor, the imp hopped off the stool and quickly moved over to his workbench with the intention of fusing the soul with whatever invisible object was in the tray he had prepared earlier, the chanting still continuing.

Angel's focus moved over to the imp as he moved away.  
"H-Hey! Don't leave him like this!"  
He called, tears in his eyes as he saw the still wide-open chest cavity of his lover.  
However the imps chanting didn't cease, paying no mind to the other two in the small space.

Alastor's chest was heaving, his demonic form both terrifying and struggling like a wild animal to get free and return the part of his soul that had been taken.   
None of Angel's words were, unfortunately, getting through to Alastor at all, the creature that he was, was too... too _monstrous_ , too _inhumane_.

It wasn't long at all before the restraints around Alastor's wrists began to loosen, the strength of the Radio Demon pulling against them being too much.

Angel's focus moved back to Alastor, tears filling his eyes all the more as his hands shifted to hold Alastor's shoulders. If this is was what was going to happen to the spider when he went through this process, god, he felt sorry for these two poor men. He'd shown his full demon form once or twice before, but only for a magazine cover, showing off to the entirety of Hell that he was, in fact, an overlord. Only overlords really had that ability, it seemed.

The imp's chanting came to a quick stop as an eventual spark lit up the room for a split second before rushing back over to the table that the deer was still held against. He took the spider's lower set of hands and carefully transferred a small object into his palm.  
"Hold this for me."  
He stated before starting to remove the tool that held Alastor's chest open.

The soul, still shaking as its natural glow soon disappeared as Alastor's body closed around and absorbed it once again.

"You're fine, relax."  
The imp sighed as he tossed the bloodied tool to the table.

Angel kept his eyes on Alastor, a few tears escaping and landing on the Radio Demon's cheek as he held what felt like a small stone in his lower set of hands.

The moment that the Radio Demon's soul sunk back into his chest, Alastor's form let out a large gasp, the glitching room immediately stopping, the screams abruptly ceasing and the haunting shadows on the walls fading away.   
However, he did not turn back to his usual form so quickly. No, that would take some time. As for Alastor's chest, it was still bleeding profusely, the black liquid having stained practically everything. And his soul? It was now out of sight, having hidden deep within the Radio Demon's physical being.

From all the struggling, one of Alastor's arms managed to get free, the deer slowly raising his hand towards Angel, reaching out for the spider.

The imp made quick work of grabbing some cloths from the shelf next to the table. He applied pressure to Alastor's wound, then started to work on closing it, beginning to stitch it closed.

Angel took Alastor's now free hand and guided it to his cheek, holding it there with his own.  
"You're okay, Edward. It's okay."  
He sniffed, leaning down to place another kiss to the corner of the deer's mouth.

The imp grabbed some bottles next and started cleaning the thick blood from Alastor's form.  
"You did well for a young whippersnapper."  
He chuckled lightly.

Slowly it seemed that Alastor finally began to come back to himself. His antlers, all rugged, pointed and sharp, began to shrink down to their normal size again. As did his claws, figure in general and of course his pupils soon were back to those usual pools of reds and pinks that they always were.

"Anthony..."   
Alastor whispered out in a voice that didn't even sound like his own. It was vulnerable and weak- but it was all for Anthony and Anthony only to hear.

He'd be fine soon enough, no doubt. Once he would return home, he knew a spell or two that would bring him right back up to top shape again.

Angel couldn't help but smile as a few more tears escaped.  
"Hey baby..."  
He brought a hand to wipe the drops off of Alastor's cheek.   
"Ya scared me for a minute there-"  
He stifled a lighthearted laugh.

The imp took one of the bottles along with a glass and poured a bit of the pale fuchsia liquid into the glass before putting it to Alastor's lips.  
"This will help."

Alastor hadn't the strength to turn the imp away, instead complying and taking a few sips of the liquid that was brought to his lips.

"You shouldn't worry my dear... no way something like that is going to put me down-"   
He slowly breathed out, once again reaching for Angel's hand with the arm that was free.

The imp began removing the restraints that kept the Radio Demon down. The liquid he'd given Alastor was a mixture that was going to keep his soul calm and give him a bit of energy, as well as help heal the fresh wound faster.

"Lapis meam."  
The imp stated, holding his palm out to Angel.

The spider's attention turned to the imp.  
"Excuse me?"

"The soul stone. I need it if I'm going to make your ring."

Angel looked down and opened his lower set of hands that still held the small object that was given to him by the elder.  
Slowly opening his hands, there sat a small black oval-cut gem-like stone with the swirling green light inside; much like Alastor's soul.

He looked at it for a few moments.  
"You have a beautiful soul, Edward."  
Angel hummed softly, smiling down at the stone and then to Alastor before carefully passing the stone off to the imp.

After a few moments of having drank the liquid and the restrains having been removed, Alastor found the strength to slowly sit up, immediately clutching at his chest, feeling something deep within him. His soul was still agitated, having been removed from its host.

"Yes... it is quite the color."   
Alastor slowly nodded in response to Angel's words, his attention moving over to the imp, watching what he was doing with the stone.   
Once Angel had undergone this process, they'd have a ring each. One of the most powerful bonds that demons could have down here- a ring of the soul belonging to the one you trust and love the most.

The imp moved over to the workbench again, being very cautious and gentle with the stone.

Angel helped Alastor sit up and placed a hand on the deer's chest.   
"You okay?"  
He asked softly, shifting to sit on the edge of the blood-soaked table with his lover before placing a kiss to Alastor's temple.

Alastor slowly nodded, clearing his throat and attempting to gain his composure again after what had just happened. He was exhausted, but couldn't rest now; Angel still had yet to go through this as well.   
"Yes my love, I'll be fine."   
Chuckling at the kiss to his temple, Alastor once again took one of the spider's hands in his own.   
"I know you'll make it through. Trust me. You are strong my dear."

Angel gave a soft smile, giving Alastor's hands a small squeeze. He hadn't really thought about himself going through that same process yet; having been so focused on Alastor this whole time.

"I know I'll be okay. I ain't got any other choice."  
He gave a small laugh, pulling Alastor closer as he wrapped an arm around him.

Alastor slowly sighed as his lover wrapped an arm around him, the deer's face coming into contact with the fluffiness of Angel's chest.

"You don't have to do it, my dear. I'd completely understand. Now that you've seen what happens, I wouldn't blame you."   
He gently explained with a small nod, glancing towards the imp across the room who was still working on the soul stone.

"You shut up. I wanna do this."  
The spider huffed.  
"I want us to do all of this together. That promise I made after Mazie's is still in effect."

A spark from the workbench lit up the room for a millisecond, the imp humming a casual tune as he worked away.

"I love you, Ed... and I wanna show it by doin' this with you."

Gradually, the smile upon the Radio Demon's face began to light up once again, Alastor beginning to chuckle. He knew Angel Dust was stubborn, and boy was he glad for it.   
"I love you too Anthony... I'm honored that you want to do this with me."

As he'd said before, he knew that Angel would make it through. After everything the spider had been through his entire existence, this was literally nothing.

"How much is this one missing? He just found out about all this, so I assume you haven't the foggiest idea."  
The imp cut in, looking over at the two with a raised brow.

Angel sighed, looking over to the old coot.  
"I only know whatever Al told me. Is there somethin' he missed?"  
He asked, looking to Alastor now.

The imp looked to Alastor with a smirk.  
"There's some things that book of yours leaves out, you know."

Alastor's curiosity was suddenly peaked, brow raising as he managed to sit up a little more on the table.   
"I admit, it's been quite a few decades since I came across and read that book, so I'm sure there are things I am not aware of. But what book leaves things out, hm? What do you speak of."

Of course he'd only refreshed on a few pages before coming here with Angel, but what was he missing? Surely the rules to these stones and rings were as simple as any other spells when regarding souls. So long as the bond isn't broken, then all is fine.

"It's been a long while since that book had been written so my old memory can't remember all that was left out..."  
The imp continued working away, eyes narrowing slightly.

"This bond is permanent. Once a soul has been bound to another, it's not possible for them to bind themselves to anyone else for eternity."  
He began.  
"Once the stone and soul are fused, it becomes fragile and if it breaks, it's only a matter of time before the one the soul came from... dies. Slowly... painfully."

Angel's hold on Alastor tightened a bit as he took in the information.

"You'll inherit some of your partner's attributes and if you're away from each other for long periods of time and you reunite, the stones will light up and spark upon touching its former vessel. Of course, this will happen during your more intimate times as well."  
The imp then chuckled to himself.  
"It's like having a child. A huge responsibility that both of you carry that neither of you can get rid of unless you both want to die. So essentially it's worse!"

Alastor listened carefully, his library of a mind taking in everything that the imp was saying. The stakes of even having these rings in each other's possessions were enough of a risk, a promise that couldn't be broken without the death of the other. It was almost like marriage, or as the imp had said, keeping a child- but with the risk of both of them dying for good if anything went wrong.

But the one thing, if anything, that Alastor was rather intrigued by was the fact that both Alastor and Angel would gain some attributes from the other. Alastor of course knew of his own powers he possessed, however Angel? Being on those pills for much of his existence and with the new status of overlord, perhaps there were powers and abilities that the spider himself didn't even know about.

"Then there's just a bunch of lore that I'm sure you have no interest in. Just things about the fusions, the kind of stone used. Nothing to worry your young little minds of."  
The imp chuckled again, stepping away from the bench to let the stone rest a bit.

"I'll get to putting the rings together shortly. Now it's your turn."  
He pointed a spindly finger to Angel with a grin.  
"Any bets on what your soul will look like?"

Angel stayed quiet, looking to Alastor. He was really trying to stay strong through this, but seeing Alastor so scared and in pain was etched into his mind.

With Angel in the spotlight from here on, Alastor managed to get to his feet, having a lot more strength while standing than he initially thought he'd have. Whatever was in that liquid must have helped significantly.

"Pink."   
Was all Alastor said as he stood, brushing himself down a little, disregarding the fact those stains of black blood would be rather difficult to get out.   
"Hot, searing pink."

Angel helped Alastor stand, the imp bringing a chair over for the deer to sit down on.

"You're probably right. Or maybe it's just a big ass rainbow with how fuckin' gay I am."  
Angel laughed a bit.

The imp started preparing the new sets of tools for Angel's soul extraction.  
"That would be a sight to see. Never seen a vibrant soul before. They've all been dark and rather dull."

Alastor nodded in thanks at the imp as he brought him a chair to sit on. He may not have been feeling those pains in his chest anymore, however, the fatigue and pain where his chest had been carved into, still was very much there.   
"Yes, perhaps. It is quite unusual for a soul to be bright, however not unheard of. I have encountered a rare few vibrant souls down here."   
Alastor added before looking over to the imp again.

"I have a question if you'd be so kind as to answer it for me. You mentioned that one will gain attributes from the other. What, perhaps, would the strength of said attributes be. Could you give examples?"   
The Radio Demon was genuinely curious about that.

Angel removed his shirt and took Alastor's place on the table, paying no mind to the black blood that still stained the surface and laid down, mismatched eyes staying on his soon to be soul-bound partner for eternity.

"Ah, I've seen some gain a few powers the other held. Of course they weren't as full as the original, but still very much there. For example, if one is able to run great distances without a break, the other will be able to as well with limits. Of course, with training and such, it'll all be alike and the ability will be accurately shared between the two."  
The imp explained.

"I've seen some gain physical traits of the other, too. One thing that is most common and most likely to happen is that you'll be able to sense how the other is feeling even at a distance. You'll be able to register the vibrations your partner is giving."

Alastor continued to listen carefully to the imps explanation, nodding along to his words, taking Angel's shirt off his hands and neatly folding it as he continued to listen. Now that was rather interesting indeed.

"Well, there's no use talking about it. Once it's all over, that will be it, so the quicker the better as I said before!"   
Alastor nodded, taking one of Angel's hands.   
"You'll be fine, my love. I'm here."

The spider gave a small smile, holding Alastor's hand while he could. He then brought his third set of arms out to make sure they would be restrained, not wanting to risk anything.   
Giving a nod to Alastor's comforting words, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes as the imp began securing the spider's body to the table, having to bring out the extra chains and such for the extra limbs.

Angel took a breath, this bringing back some memories for him. Ones he hoped he had permanently forgotten.

"The same job goes for you. Keep talking and distract him."  
He instructed Alastor now as he started parting Angel's chest fluff to gain better access to his chest.

Alastor watched as all of Angel's limbs were secured down to the table, the imp making sure everything was secure before he began parting the spider's thick chest fluff.

Alastor still held one of Angel's hands even after it was strapped down.   
"I don't believe that those sweet nothings really worked too much the last time, however, I will do as you wish."   
Alastor added, wanting to do as much as he possibly could to make this easy for Angel.

The spider gave the deer a nervous and thankful smile.

"I think it did work. I have noticed that when the partner just sits by and watches, the soul becomes that much more aggressive and puts up a bigger fight."  
The imp explained.

Angel closed his eyes and continued focusing on his breathing. He was incredibly nervous, but he knew he was safe and that he would make it out okay. Alastor wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. Angel knew that.

"Then... I shall comfort you as best I can, Anthony..."   
Alastor gently let out, slowly leaning down and placing a small kiss to the spider's forehead.   
He could tell that Angel was overwhelmingly nervous, his sudden quietness only justifying that for someone who was usually quite talkative.

Watching the imp with slightly narrowed eyes to watch his every move, Alastor made sure to observe carefully. If anything were to go wrong, he would waste no time in putting an end to this procedure immediately.

Angel's smile grew a bit as his shoulders raised a bit.  
"Thanks, Edward..."  
His eyes opened to look at his love.  
"Just you bein' here means everything."

The imp set the tools down beside Angel with a bit of a hum.   
"Again, say any last words you might have. You'll be fine, but just in case."

Angel kept his eyes on Alastor.  
"I... guess I just wanna say that I love you. I think ya already know that, but that's... pretty much it."  
He shrugged.

Alastor huffed a small laugh, nodding his head.  
"Hah, yes. I do know that. And I love you too- something that I think you already know as well, my dear."

And with that, just as the imp had done with him, there seemed to be no more hesitation following.

"If that's everything, we'll start on three."  
The imp picked up the blade and positioned it at the top of Angel's chest.

"Three."  
The imp said before driving the knife into the spider's chest, red blood immediately leaving the wound.

Angel's eyes widened and his body pulled at the restraints with a gasp and loud scream, wanting so badly to break free and curl in on himself.   
Growling out through clenched teeth as the imp ripped the knife down the spider's center.

Angel's eyes filled with tears, the pain being worse than he'd expected it to be. It was probably best that the imp didn't actually count, starting immediately.

Alastor felt his own teeth grinding down against each other as the knife was plunged into his lover's chest, the look on the spider's face almost chilling to Alastor.   
Through all of the killings and brutal murders that Alastor had ever committed, there was nothing like seeing a loved one being stabbed with the one weapon you used many a time yourself.

The deer's grip on Angel's hand tightened, thumb gently rubbing the side of the spider's hand as he saw the tears filling Angel's eyes.   
"Don't think about it, Anthony... ignore the pain."

"K-Kinda... h-hard to whe-when... th-there's a f-fu-fuckin'... knife i-in your che-chest..."  
Angel ground out as his eyes started slowly trailing down to the bleeding wound; his chest fluff matting from the thick liquid. His grip on Alastor's hand tightened and his nails dig into his skin.   
The spider's breathing was jagged and forced, chest heaving as his body began to shake.

The imp removed the blade and replaced it with the second tool, shoving and nestling it into the arachnid's sternum before starting to crank and pry him open.

Tears started leaving Angel's eyes as he closed them tightly.  
"G-God- Fuck!"  
He cried out, feeling something start to take over his very being as his soul took charge of protecting itself. It seemed to sense its impending doom and started taking hold of the arachnid.

The sound of snapping bones erupted from the spider's body as it started contorting like that of a spider; but it wasn't entirely noticeable with him being tightly restrained. His eyes closed tightly as he tried keeping himself as calm as he possibly could.

Alastor, despite being Hell's number one fan of gore, simply had to turn away as Angel's sternum was pried open, the uncomfortable and painful sounds coming from the one he loved, almost too much to bear.

However, as soon as Angel's form began to... change a little, Alastor's attention was back on the spider, brows furrowing at the contorting and the snapping sounds of bones; Angel's white fur darkening to a more grey tone from under the blood. Now, this was certainly going to be interesting.   
If Angel's true demon from looked anything like the spiders Alastor had seen down here before, then it was definitely going to be something else. Quite the terrifying sight to any arachnophobe. 

Still, the deer clutched Angel's hand with both of his own now, leaning down as he ignored the pain from the sharpened nails piercing into his hand.   
"Anthony... my dear, just think when this is all over. You won't have to do it again. You'll never have to feel any more pain."

The spider's eyes shot open, this time there being eight. The pink markings located just under his eyes opening to show black scleras with pink pupil-less irises. All of his eyes matched like this now as the pink began to glow.

Angel let out gruff growls with each crank of the tool, a vibrant pink glow breaking free with each crack and break of his ribs; the spider's soul being exposed.

The eyes that suddenly opened did surprise Alastor a little, however as soon as that hot, vibrant pink colored glow began to emit from Angel's chest cavity. Alastor had predicted correctly.

Hot pink saliva began seeping through Angel's teeth as they ground together. His body twitched and arched as the final crank was given with a shriek, Angel's soul frantically shaking and trying to burrow itself deeper in his chest as the cold outside air embraced it.

The imp was quick in grabbing the tweezers and small scissors.  
"Keep him focused. Don't let him move."

"Think about the Earth my love... what we did there together, how much it's changed over the decades. And... the beach. The way you danced was most exquisite."   
Alastor continued on, still gripping Angel's hand as he whispered random sweet nothings of affection into the spider's ear, trying his hardest to keep his thrashing at bay all while watching Angel's soul, making sure nothing was going wrong.   
"Just a little longer now."

"This soul looks rather scarred and hurt already-"

Emotionally speaking, it was no surprise that Angel's soul seemed quite broken from the outside. After all, the spider had gone through quite a few mishaps and had many misfortunes in both his life and death.

Once again, the imp pinched a small piece of the soul, his body freezing as the arachnid's memories and sins played in his glowing yellow eyes.

Thirty seconds of the soul trying to escape the grasp of the tweezers and Angel letting out a few shrieks before the imp snapped back to the present; quickly beginning to chant, snipping the small piece free and hastily made his way back over to the workbench.  
Once the soul was released, it shuddered and jolted deeper into the spider's chest and behind his heart.

Too occupied on Angel, the demon in clear pain as a piece of his soul was successfully extracted, Alastor too did not see the brief flash of Angel's memories.

Angel's form began shaking more violently, all eight eyes darting around a bit before landing on Alastor again. The shaking becoming less violent as he focused on the Radio Demon, breathing still shallow and labored as his still open chest expanded and contracted rapidly.

"The worst part is over my love, you've done exceptionally... just stay with me, yes? Smile for me, darling."   
With the soul finally having sunk back into Angel's chest, while the bleeding was still happening and his lungs damaged, at least the soul would recover and hopefully Angel would be looking like his normal self again shortly.

Upon the request, the corners of Angel's mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly as a few tears rolled freely from his dark eyes.  
His chest shakily raising and lowering at a steadier pace now.

The imp needed to work quite a bit harder with Angel's soul in fusing it with the stone. It didn't seem to want to cooperate as his chanting continued.

Alastor's frame visibly relaxed upon him seeing his lover's lips twitching up into the smallest of smiles, but it was enough.   
"That's it my dear... your smile always was beautiful."

Reaching down once again, Alastor very carefully wiped away the tiny streams of tears that managed to escape the corners of Angel's eyes.

Angel desperately wanted to lean into Alastor's touch, but the strap around his neck and forehead stopped him from fulfilling that need.   
The extra six eyes began to close as he relaxed and his right eye began to return to its normal state; the black of his sclera slowly melting back into his pupil.

Angel wanted to say something but his voice couldn't find its way through his tightened throat, only growls and grunts managing to escape.

Finally, the spark came from the workbench the imp was settled at. With a sigh, he made his way back over, taking one of Alastor's hands.  
"Hold this. That was far more difficult than I expected!"  
He chuckled lightly as he began to remove the tool that kept Angel open, sealing the soul safely back into the spider's chest.

As the blood was cleaned up and the stitching began, Angel's disfigured body began snapping back into its original form.

Nodding to himself as he watched Angel begin to turn back, Alastor looked at the imp as the old man grabbed his hand, placing the stone carefully in his palm. It was no surprise that Angel's soul was difficult, he knew he was as stubborn as anything.

As the imp began stitching, Alastor looked down at his hand, slowly opening his fingers to see a tiny hot pink colored, oval-shaped stone. There were small spines of darker pink on the outside, running around the entire thing.

"How very beautiful..."   
Alastor whispered just as Angel's body fully contorted back to normal, the deer holding the spider's hand in his other the entire time.

Angel's body relaxed significantly now, eyes staying on Alastor as he regained mild control of his breathing. The pain wasn't nearly as bad now, but it was still very much present.

"You both did very well. I'm impressed, really. This wouldn't have ended well if the feelings weren't genuine."  
The imp hummed as he finished the stitching and poured Angel some of the same liquid he did for Alastor, putting the glass to the spider's lips.

Angel was hesitant at first but drank it anyways before grimacing with a small cough.  
"Tastes like shit-"

The old man chuckled lightly, continuing to clean Angel up.  
"No one ever said it tasted _good_ , did they?"

Alastor smirked a little as Angel's face scrunched at the taste of the liquid, the deer snapping his fingers, all of the restraints holding the spider down unfastening.

"I'm proud of you, Anthony."   
Alastor smiled, slowly letting go of Angel's hand, showing the spider the stone that was in his hand.

"It's quite a pretty stone-"   
He began, pausing a moment upon inspecting it a little more. In the very center of the stone, barely visible in the dim lighting of the shack, was the outline of what looked to be a spider.   
"Fascinating..."   
Alastor whispered.

Angel looked at the stone his lover held. He wasn't sure what he expected, but this seemed to be an accurate thing to expect.

The spider carefully pulled himself closer to the Radio Demon now that he wasn't being restrained and retracted his third set of arms.

The imp held his hand out to retrieve the stone from Alastor again.  
"Is there anything specific you'd like for the bands? Any engravings or design?"

Handing the stone carefully over to the imp, Alastor then looked over to his lover with a small smile.   
"I think... I think I have an idea as to what I would want to be engraved on a ring."   
He nodded, pulling the chair he was sitting on closer to Angel.

These rings would be very precious indeed. They'd both be carrying the others literal life on their finger, and if that alone wasn't a symbol of trust in itself, then what was?

Angel cuddled into Alastor with a small hum. His strength was slowly returning after drinking whatever it was the imp had provided.

"Me too..."  
The spider started softly with a slightly hoarse voice. He then looked to Alastor, bringing a hand to cup his cheek.  
"Sei la mia risposta finale..."

Slowly bringing an arm around Angel's shoulders, seeing his chest fluff was still matted with blood, Alastor looked over to the imp.

"Tu es ma résponse finale."   
The deer spoke as well.

He didn't know how long the rings would take to make, but they had an eternity to wait; and as far as Alastor was concerned, so long as Angel was there, he'd be willing to wait any length of time.

The imp raised a brow, looking back at the two before he carefully started working on the bands.

Angel's tired eyes seemed to light up a bit as Alastor gave his statement. It was close enough to both English and Italian for him to know what was said.   
"I love you, Ed... so much."  
The spider whispered, smiling.

Leaning down closer to Angel, Alastor gently whispered in his ear.   
"I love you too, Anthony."   
He wasn't usually an affectionate person in front of others but seeing as the imp was turned away, Alastor made the exception; and it wasn't like they'd be seeing the imp again anytime soon anyways.

"And, for your bands in general? Or do I have free range with those? Assuming you're a deer and spider, I have an idea in mind."  
The imp asked as he wrote down what they wanted on a small piece of parchment.

Nodding once more, Alastor huffed out an exhausted laugh of his own.   
"As far as I am concerned, do as you wish."   
He too was quite exhausted, wanting nothing more than to lay down with Angel and rest after a while apart due to being busy- however the deer knew he'd have to wait.  
"And yes, I am a deer and he is a spider."

The imp quietly worked away, leaving the two to rest in peace together.

The spider's eyes started to flutter shut despite his best efforts to keep them open, the events that had just unfolded were far too much for him.   
He took far too much comfort in the deer's careful arms to be able to keep himself awake.

Angel wasn't nearly as strong as Alastor was, so naturally the toll was drastically different between them.

"Don't leave..."  
Angel muttered in his nearly unconscious state.

Alastor too was quite exhausted, the whole process of having a part of his soul removed being tiring, however, he still managed to will himself to stay awake.

Upon noticing Angel falling asleep, Alastor slowly began to rake his fingers lightly through the spider's hair, smiling a little at the words the spider spoke sounding half asleep.   
"I'm not going anywhere, my love."   
He replied in confidence.

Snapping his fingers to get Alastor's attention, the imp spoke up again.  
"Keep a close eye on him if he's going to be sleeping. He may not wake up. His soul is still in shock."  
The imp instructed.  
"I'm nearly finished. Not much longer."

Alastor's head quickly turned in the direction of the imp upon hearing him trying to get his attention.   
Simply nodding in response to his advice and the fact that he was almost finished, the deer slowly then turned back to Angel, continuing to run his fingers through his hair.

The imp quickly finished with the rings as promised and brought them over to the two.  
"Hopefully you like what I've managed to come up with. If not you can always come back later and have adjustments made."  
He stated calmly, not wanting to startle the spider awake.

"I will bind the two of you and then you can be on your way to rest."  
The old man hopped up onto the stool beside the table Angel was still laying upon and summoned a book.

Sitting up a little in his own chair beside the table, Alastor placed a hand to Angel's shoulder, gently shaking him awake.   
"Anthony my dear, wake up."   
Alastor gently called, looking over to the book that the imp had just summoned.

After this was done, the two of them would finally be- as the imp said, on their way; and both of them would be able to get their much-needed rest.

The spider gave a soft hum as he began to stir, mismatched eyes slowly prying open to look at the one he was cuddled against. It wasn't much rest at all, but it was going to have to be enough for now.

The imp then opened his palms to show them their rings.   
The ring for Alastor featuring the vibrant pink stone made with Angel's soul. The band was a simple silver with webs engraved into the outside, and Angel's Italian saying etched on the inside.  
The ring for Angel was quite the same, Alastor's soul stone and the band being silver with deer hoof tracks etched into the outside with the French saying on the inside.

Alastor's brows raised a little at the sight of the rings in the imp's palm. They were delicate yet beautiful and Alastor knew they'd be cherished for eternity despite not having a choice in the matter.

The spider's eyes trailed over to the rings being presented to them and gave a small smile, slowly pulling away from the Radio Demon and sat up a bit.  
"They're beautiful."

The imp handed Angel the one made for Alastor, and Alastor the one made for Angel.  
"Put the rings on each other's ring fingers, the upper hand for you, spider."  
The imp instructed as he opened his book to a marked page, removing the red silk ribbon that held the place.

Angel gave a tired nod and took Alastor's left hand and carefully slid the ring onto his clawed finger.

A small smile of fondness was present on the Radio Demon's face the entire time they were exchanging rings. Once his was on his finger, Alastor took Angel's upper left hand in his own, picking up the ring with his other and slowly slid it on the spider's ring finger as well.   
He was pleasantly surprised as to how well the fit was of each of the rings.

The imp then grabbed their hands and had them intertwine their fingers, then took Angel's lower set of hands and had them rest against Alastor's chest carefully.   
Taking the red ribbon, the old man started wrapping it around their hands, the rings on each of their fingers giving an immediate glow upon the contact between the two.

"Now then, give any honest promises you may have to each other. These will be held sacred to your binding. And use each other's real names. This is important."

Alastor watched as the red ribbon was tied around their intertwined hands, taking a small breath. He didn't have to think about what promises he was going to make to Angel- he already knew.

"Anthony Lorenzo Genovese, I'd like to bind myself and my soul to the promise that I will _never_ leave you again. I promised it once, and I'm doing it once more. I promise to always protect you under every and any circumstance, and most importantly, I promise to always love you. No matter what happens to either of us."  
It may not have been too apparent, however there was a slight waver to the Radio Demon's voice, the deer trying his hardest not to begin to tear up at this point.   
"I have given a part of my soul for you and if I had to, just know I would do it again without any hesitation. In fact, I hope it's apparent that if it came down to it, I would give my _entire_ soul for you."   
He kept his eyes on Angel, not daring to break their eye contact as he spoke his heartfelt words of truth.

Angel couldn't help but tear up himself, Alastor's words hitting him like a ton of bricks.   
Any and all negative feelings and resentment he felt towards the deer before coming here was now gone; knowing that this sacrifice was a serious thing and something that not just anyone could go through with.

The spider's grip on Alastor's hands tightened slightly in comfort as he noticed the faint break in his voice.

The imp then looked to Angel, awaiting his vows.

"I know I said this to ya before too... right after Mazie's, actually-"  
Angel took a breath to keep himself together.  
"I'm gunna be by your side no matter what happens. If you get hurt, I'll be there to patch you up and help you heal. If you fall, I'll fall with ya. If you find that ya need to stay down for a while, I'll do that too; and when you're ready to get up again, I'll help ya get to steady ground so you can stand on your own again..."  
A tear left Angel's eye as he took another breath.  
"If you die, I'm dyin' with you. You're never doin' anything alone again. Whether ya want me there with you or not, I'm staying. That, Edward Alastor Bouchére, is my eternal vow that I'll _never_ break... for as long as we have left in this reality."

Alastor by this point too would admit to the glossiness of his eyes, unable to wipe away the tears that threatened to fall due to the binding currently on his hands.   
He knew Angel meant every word he said, and while the thought of his love dying scared him, he knew that all the words that were spoken that day were genuine down to the very last syllable.

The imp waited a moment before looking down at his book.  
"Nunc constringes animas esse. Ut nihil eorum est vinculum inter se usque ad consummationem saeculi aeternum. Ad artis dictum est, verba Dei sunt participatur fidem. Et posuit illud, ut in historia pro omnibus scire."  
The imp stated calmly as the ribbon began to warm their hands, a golden string of fine chain forming over top as a sign of their bond forming and officiating.

As a golden string formed, the stones on each of their rings began to glow brighter than before and Alastor felt something deep within his being, something that wasn't there before that he was positive Angel was feeling too. The bond had indeed been made. A link between the two of their souls that would be present for eternity.   
Angel and Alastor's beings were now in sync with each other.

The old man then set the book down and placed his hands over theirs, the gold fading before removing the ribbon with a warm and happy smile.  
"Congratulations, kids."

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Alastor let Angel's hands go, lowering them yet his fond gaze still stayed upon the spider.

As Alastor let go, the spider brought his own up to the deer's face to carefully wipe the tears away from his eyes.   
He was filled with _only_ positive thoughts and emotions for the first time in a very long time.

"You're both welcome here anytime you'd like."  
The imp smiled as he put the ribbon back in its place in the book, grabbing his staff once again along with a smaller bottle of the liquid he'd given them after the extractions, handing it to Alastor.  
"Have some of this when you wake up again. It'll help."

Alastor let out a small laugh as Angel wiped his tears away from the corners of his eyes, the Radio Demon then turning to the imp, taking the small bottle given to them.   
"We cannot thank you enough for what you've done for us."   
Alastor spoke with his usual grin, slowly beginning to stand, offering Angel a hand up off the table.   
"We may return at some point, however, we must be going for now."

"No need to thank me. I must thank you both for being wonderful company!"  
The imp grinned back.

Angel took Alastor's hand and slowly got to his feet. It was easier than he expected, but his chest still hurt like a bitch.

The old imp followed them to the door, commanding it to open for them with a simple wave of his staff.   
"It was a pleasure serving the two of you, and may you have a long and happy existence."  
He paused, waiting for them to be just outside.

"Now got off my lawn, you punks!"  
The old coot yelled, shaking his staff at them before slamming the door shut behind the newly bound demons.

Angel couldn't help be give a weak laugh.  
"This place is full of wild little freaks, aye?"

Alastor laughed too, his own chest hurting a little as he did so, yet he paid it no mind as the door was slammed behind them.

"Yes, quite the interesting fellow he is."   
Alastor smiled, slowly leading Angel away from the shack behind them. His own shirt and pants were still stained in black blood and upon looking over to Angel, it seemed that he was still in quite the state as well.

"I can tell you're tired. Let us return home and you can get some rest. It's a good thing you do not have your duties at the studio for the next week, hm?"

Angel gave a nod in response.  
"Yeah. Ya picked a good time to do this."  
He smiled, looking at the ring that sat on his finger. He didn't get a chance to really look at it yet and he wanted to wait until he was well-rested before he really admired it.

Holding his left hand close to his chest, he looked to Alastor again.  
"You better rest too... or I'm gunna tie you down and keep ya down."

From the corner of his eye, Alastor saw Angel looking at the ring on his finger, a soft smile making its way to the Radio Demon's face as he observed. He hadn't had a chance to properly look at his own ring, but after resting he planned to do just that.

"Oh don't worry, I'm just as exhausted as you are, my dear. I plan to rest no doubt."   
He may not have looked like it, but Alastor was as tired as anything currently. The deer was rather good at hiding those sorts of things, but luckily figured he had just enough strength to teleport them back home again.

"Well, take us home then, 'punk'."  
The spider huffed a laugh, imitating that the old imp used to call them upon their departure as he held onto the Radio Demon, ready for the quick and painless teleportation.  
It was becoming harder and harder for Angel to keep his eyes open the more time went on.

Chuckling softly at that one, shaking his head with a grin, Alastor wrapped an arm around Angel's shoulders, the two of them teleporting away in an instant.

Immediately, they appeared back in their home together, more specifically in their bedroom. Stairs certainly didn't seem like something Alastor wanted to do right now after all. As they appeared, Alastor's knees almost buckled, the deer keeping a hold of Angel as he steadied himself on the edge of the bed.

Angel was still steady, helping Alastor sit down carefully. He could tell his partner was extremely tired. Something as simple as teleporting them seemed to really take a hefty toll on him.

"Wow, guess I _really_ need some rest now, cher."   
He breathed out, bringing a hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. A slight cajun accent taking hold of his voice.

With a raised eyebrow, the spider tilted his head and chuckled.  
"What did you just say? I ain't heard ya speak like that before."  
He stated as he started helping Alastor into bed properly before moving to the other side of the bed, moving to lay next to the deer with a small smile.

Alastor silently thanked Angel as he helped him into their bed, the Radio Demon snapping his fingers, his shoes and bloodied shirt disappearing. The large stitched up wound down his chest would also be another scar to remember but in a positive way.

"Hm? What do you mean?"   
Alastor asked as he laid himself down, genuinely not even knowing what he'd said, or more specifically what pet name had slipped out, one he hadn't used in decades.

Angel shook his head, knowing the both of them were completely out of it.  
"Somethin' about 'sha'? I coulda just heard it though, who knows..."  
He shrugged, weakly cuddling up to the deer.

"Sleep now, or I'll knock your sorry ass out myself..."  
Angel's voice was getting weaker with every word as he began to slip into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness. It was the most blissful thing he'd ever experienced.

Chuckling lightly at Angel's words, Alastor snapped out the lights before wrapping an arm around his lover.   
"Perhaps I did, I suppose it must slip out when I'm exhausted..."

Whether Angel was awake for the deer's explanation or not, that didn't matter too much because soon after was Alastor falling asleep too, his body finally getting the rest and recovery that was so desperately needed after such a tiring day.


	16. Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Spicyyyy~  
> Happy (early) Birthday, Lia.   
> And I hope all you other horny little shits are happy with this too, damn it.  
> *cough*Nova*cough*
> 
> I encourage you to read the first few paragraphs because they hold some information on the development of their bond.

It took quite some time for the soul-bound duo to fully heal and get enough rest after their sudden exhausting visit to the crazy old man out in the middle of nowhere.

Already, Angel was noticing minor changes to himself that could have only been explained by the bonding.   
He seemed calmer and at ease, his mind wasn't constantly racing; this must have been their souls cooperating with each other, Alastor's soul comforting Angel's and visa versa.

In the passing days after getting their rings, Alastor too began to notice some, minor at first, changes, especially between their bond. It was quite fascinating to the deer, and even after they returned from the imp's residence, the deer continued to read through the book on the rings.

In Alastor's opinion, when they hadn't necessarily before, he felt like he and Angel were on a much more similar wavelength which no doubt had something to do with their new bond. He could sense if Angel was perhaps feeling upset or even if the smallest thing was bothering him, and it helped strengthen their relationship to say the least.  
Another thing they seemed to be able to do is sensing the whereabouts of their partner.

Angel was in the kitchen, putting some dishes away when a plate slipped from his grasp and shattered on the floor beneath him.

"It's fine, don't worry."  
He stated, assuming Alastor heard it from wherever he was located in the house.

With a small sigh, he put everything else down and started to clean up the pieces.   
However, as he was picking them up, one of the shards cut into his palm, releasing a deep red- almost black liquid that was his blood, causing Angel to hiss in mild discomfort; but without much time to breathe or even think, a black hole opened up beneath the spider, tentacles much like Alastor's, except a little smaller, came through and wrapped themselves around his legs, torso, neck and arms.

With a startled shriek, Angel tensed and started to fight to get free of their grasp, but it only made them tighter.  
"What the fuck?!"

When the smash from the kitchen came, Alastor was in the basement, reading through a few materials. He placed his book down, about to check on the spider when he heard the initial   
'it's fine, don't worry'.   
Presuming all was okay, Alastor picked up his book once again only for a startled shriek to then sound out.   
The Radio Demon sighed as he teleported up to the kitchen, his eyes suddenly widening at the sight.

Tentacles, much like the ones he could summon, were wrapped around Angel- however they weren't Alastor's. Quickly scanning the floor, the cracked plate followed by a piece of the blood-stained porcelain caught his eye, the deer immediately putting the pieces together in his mind.

"Anthony, relax and tell them in your head that you want them to put you down-"   
Alastor stated rather calmly, snapping his fingers, the broken plate disappearing.

Angel continued to struggle, huffing and straining to get away.  
"Y-You mean you're not the one doin' this...?"  
He questioned, not having taken note of the size difference.

Gulping down his stress, Angel calmed himself as much as he could and the tentacles followed suit, relaxing with him and soon carefully setting the spider down.   
It then entered his mind; what the imp had talked about. This must have been a power he now shared with the Radio Demon.

As soon as he was set free, Angel rushed to Alastor and wrapped his four arms around him as the tentacles slithered back into the floor with the black hole closing them in again.

Angel said nothing as he buried his face into Alastor's neck. That sensation gave him some really mixed feelings.

Alastor simply shook his head, observing the tentacles as finally, they pulled off of Angel and let him go, slithering back down into the floor.   
The deer was about to say something when suddenly all four of Angel's arms were wrapped around him, face pressing into his neck.   
He could sense the mixed emotions the spider was feeling, and he had no doubt in his mind why.

"My dear, it's okay. If this is what the imp said would happen, then they won't hurt you. They're yours, you command them."   
Alastor reassured, gently patting his lover's back a few times.

Angel simply gave a small nod and pulled away after a moment of fully calming himself.  
"Just kinda scared me, that's all."  
He replied with a bit of a huff.   
There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach he could only hope Alastor didn't pick up on. Something he hadn't really felt for a long while.

Though secretly the spider wished they would be able to take care of this together, he wasn't going to push anything onto the deer.   
Without those pills in his system, he wasn't sure how to act on this and have it seem natural.  
It was probably Alastor's asexuality mixing with his own now somewhat normal sex drive.

"I'll finish up here and go fix my ha-"  
Angel looked at the hand that had been cut, but it was already healed over.  
"...huh. Alright, then I guess I _won't_ be doing that-"

Alastor paused a moment, taking a small step back, brow furrowing. He would be kidding himself if he said he hadn't picked up on that sudden feeling on Angel's part- and it seemed their bond was going to strengthen in this field too.

Ever since they'd gotten back together and been reunited, the two of them hadn't engaged in anything sexual at all.   
Of course, that didn't bother Alastor, he wasn't concerned with those things; however, now that he and Angel were connected, while Angel's sex drive was normal again, the Radio Demon could now pick up on the wants or needs that the spider had if any.

"Perhaps we could amend your... _distaste_ for them."   
Alastor slowly started, referring to the tentacles and why Angel didn't trust them completely; because of what had held him down before being taken back into Valentino's possession.   
"Anthony, dear, you know I can feel what you feel."

It would be a complete lie if Angel said he didn't have a clue what Alastor was talking about, knowing full well what he was referring to.

"I'm alright, Ed, don't worry."  
He smiled and turned back to the dishes that still needed to be put away, finishing up that small job.  
Just because they were synced didn't mean Angel wasn't going to try to weasel his way out of some situations.

While yes, he was still quite scared of that certain power and the memories they brought were unpleasant, the didn't really see much of a need to get over it. He couldn't see either of them using the tentacles on each other for any good reason.

Humming to himself, a slightly smug smile upon his face, Alastor spun around to lean again the kitchen counter beside Angel, arms folding across his chest as he quietly watched the spider finish up his job.

"I hate to say it, really, but if I were any other sort of demon down here, I'd no doubt see the other ways of utilizing them other than violence and fighting."

Of course, when it came down to it, it was up to Angel what he decided to do. However, that didn't mean that Alastor couldn't sway an opinion- he was usually quite good at that.   
"Even so, why you've been quite tense recently, my love. That new job of yours is awfully draining, I can see."   
He grinned a little more, twirling around behind Angel, placing two of his palms upon Angel's shoulders and lightly kneading.

Angel's shoulder's tensed a bit at the contact but quickly relaxed.  
Again, he'd be lying if he denied Alastor's observations.   
Closing his eyes and embracing the massage, he sighed and leaned into it; putting all four hands down on the counter.

"The job does kinda suck at times-"  
He agreed softly.  
"-but really, ya don't have to do this for me, babe."  
But damn did he ever want this to happen. The last time they actually did anything was the morning after Mazie's demise and they had yet to consummate their binding.

Subconsciously, Angel started pushing his lower half back against Alastor.

It seemed that as Angel relaxed a little, Alastor did too, continuing his massaging, working out those obvious knots of the arachnid's shoulders and probably much of his back too.

"If I cannot help with your work, then I can at least help lessen your occasional stressful days there."   
He justified with a nod, continuing working on Angel's shoulders.   
Eventually, Alastor began to feel Angel pressing back against him, the deer raising a brow a little yet still carrying on, working a little further down Angel's back now.

The spider let out a small groan of relief; those knots having been causing him quite a bit of discomfort and irritation over time, and to finally have them worked out was so relieving.

"Ya never said ya wanted to help with it; so I guessed because of the content, ya wouldn't really wanna in the first place."  
Angel sighed as a shiver ran through his body, especially his left leg.   
He'd never had something like this happen to him before. Hell, this whole experience was new to him. He'd never been so confused about his sexual needs and desires, and to have a massage leading up to it was rather new as well.

As soon as Alastor hit the small of his back, Angel pushed himself further into the deer's touch.  
"That's where I need it~"  
He almost moaned, the quiver in his leg seeming to get more intense.

Alastor simply chuckled, the quivering in the spider's left leg being all too obvious, as it usually was.   
"Tell me, Anthony darling, when was the last time you were massaged like this?"   
Alastor simply asked, going over the part of Angel's back that seemed to please him the most. Although, with the way they were standing, it was quite difficult for Angel to get the most out of this.

Pressing himself forwards a little more, feeling slightly daring this evening it seemed, Alastor leaned around to press a small kiss to the side of the spider's jaw, still kneading his shoulders and upper back.

Angel had to actually think about that. Valentino would book massage therapy for his employees, but that was a rare event.   
"I think the last time was... fifty-three years ago? Somethin' like that?"

Alastor simply shook his head at Angel's answer, tutting in disapproval.   
"That won't do at all."

The spider's back let out a pop, which made him let out another moan.  
"Oh, sweet fuckin' lord~"  
His eyes rolled back before they closed again.   
This position wasn't exactly ideal, so Angel stood upright before turning himself to face the deer, upper set of arms wrapping around his neck and the lower set holding onto his shirt.

The deer hummed once again, slowly lowering his hands from Angel's back as the spider turned. 

"Here or upstairs?"  
Angel whispered, now willing to accept the fact that he wanted this to happen, pushing that awkward feeling down. They'd done this before and Alastor didn't seem to be against it.   
If anything, Angel noticed Alastor was feeling rather dominant. He could feel it and it made him want to submit that much more; which went for Alastor as well. He could sense Angel's submission rise, which only fueled his dominance all the more.

"Kitchens are quite inconvenient, let's take this upstairs."   
Alastor then whispered back, settling his palms gently upon Angel's waist as he softly pulled the spider closer to him.   
With his arms around his partner, not a second was spared before the Radio Demon had them teleported up to their bedroom.

Angel felt a smile pull at the corners of his mouth as Alastor moved them to the more ideal setting. As soon as they were where they wanted to be, the spider let go of the deer and started removing their shirts, one set of hands each; as he leaned forward to start kissing and nibbling the deer's neck with a smirk.

Alastor managed to help with removing both of their shirts, the deer's eyes closing for a brief moment as he felt the spider focusing some attention on his neck. However that didn't last long, the Radio Demon wanting this to be about his lover.

The wounds on their chests were fully healed now, leaving nothing more than a scar. Whatever the imp had given them made the healing move along much faster.

Once Angel's shirt was off, Alastor led him over to the bed, laying him down, not bothering with the full removal of his own shirt just yet; instead just leaving it open.

"Anthony, darling, you deserve to relax."  
He whispered with a smirk of his own, still having every intention to massage Angel for a bit.

As he was laid down, the spider turned to lay on his stomach so Alastor could do as he wished, knowing he wanted to continue with the massage. Frankly, Angel was all for it. The deer knew what to do, it seemed.

Alastor using his name like that just made Angel melt that much more. The way it seemed to roll off of his tongue and the added sensual tone made his leg twitch even more.

"I ain't never been so relaxed in my entire existence, Ed..."  
He replied, lidded eyes looking back at the deer in anticipation. The spider's upper set of arms were folded neatly under his head, acting as a pillow, while the lower set simply held the bedding.

Once Angel was comfortably situated, Alastor shuffled over to sit gently above the spider, straddling his outstretched legs as he snapped his fingers, a bottle of oil appearing in hand.   
This oil, Alastor knew, would be suitable for Angel, who was covered in fur of course- the oil wouldn't mat it or anything bad which he knew was important to his lover.

"Alright my dear."   
Alastor hummed, rolling the sleeves of his dress shirt up before pouring a small amount of the oil into one of his palms, starting to rub his hands together to warm up the oil and his hands in general.   
"If anything is painful, do tell me."   
And with that, Alastor began working the oil gently at first into Angel's mid-back and pushing upwards.

Angel closed his eyes and gave a nod, not bothering to check to make sure the oil was compatible with his fur. He knew that Alastor was aware.   
As the Radio Demon's oiled hands started working against Angel's knot-ridden back, he gave a relaxed sigh.

"You're getting one after this too. Hope y'know that."  
The spider hummed, cracking one eye open to look back at Alastor with a calm smile.  
He really couldn't have asked for anything better.

Alastor chuckled softly with a small shrug as he continued to work all the knots and tense areas out of Angel's back and shoulders.   
"Perhaps."   
He continued to chuckle, moving slowly down Angel's body.

Still grinding the heels of his hands down into Angel's back, Alastor slowly leaned down, gently peppering kisses down the stretch of Angel's neck, nibbling slightly just as the spider had done to him just moments ago.

A few little pops sounded here and there the more Alastor worked, causing Angel's leg to twitch some more. The attention to his neck didn't really help either.

Alastor was quite surprised at just how many cracks and pops were coming from the arachnid's back, but that was stress and tension for you. Clearly the spider had been under a lot for some time.

His hips instinctively shifted up and back against Alastor's pelvis with a small wiggle, grinning as he started to feel the slowly growing bulge in the deer's pants. The angle his back was pushed into by doing this caused another pop in his mid-back.

The spider's lower set of hands moved downward to Alastor's legs, starting at his knees, Angel worked his way up to his thighs and gave a gentle squeeze with a satisfied hum.

Without even meaning to, the Radio Demon let out the smallest of gasps as he felt Angel's sneaky hands slowly trailing up to his thighs from under him, squeezing at the clothed flesh there which only spurred Alastor on all the more.   
He knew that Angel had felt his growing bulge just a moment ago as he pushed his hips back against his groin, and to add to all of this, he could also feel how Angel was feeling right now; and it was, by all means, identical to his own feelings.

"Anthony-"  
Alastor almost purred, shifting his hips a little, digging his hands further into Angel's lower back now.

This forced Angel's hips back down, gaining a huff of mild frustration from the spider. He moved his hands to hook around Alastor's thighs now, pulling his hips in closer to make up for the lost contact.

"C'mon Edward, don't tease me like that~"  
He smirked, now biting his lower lip as he looked back at the deer again, nails lightly digging into the fabric of Alastor's pants.

Alastor just grinned, still taking his time in kissing and nipping Angel's neck as well as kneading his back, regardless of the way the arachnid's arms hooked around the deer's thighs, pulling him in.

"My dear, if I'm not mistaken, I'd say we are doing it to each other."  
Pulling one hand away from Angel's back, Alastor snaked it downwards, lightly grabbing the spider's hand that teased at his thigh and slowly brought it higher to the deer's bulge.   
"Though, your teasing is quite the inconvenience, as you can see."

Angel let Alastor guide his hand, feeling his own body warm from the sensual nature of their interaction.   
He began to gently palm at the bulge his hand was met with, only feeling it grow and pulsate.

"Looks like we have a bit of a problem~"  
He chuckled lightly, removing his hand again before pushing his ass firmly against Alastor once again, now lightly grinding as his hand worked around to hold the deer's rump; pulling him in as close as he could.

Angel was enjoying the teasing far too much. It brought him a sense of pride knowing he was able to cause Alastor such a massive issue.   
Of course, he wasn't going to let the deer suffer for long; having every intention of fixing the problem if Alastor ended up breaking.   
However, he was going to milk this as much as he possibly could, wanting to almost torture his lover as much as he'd allow it.

As Angel gently palmed at Alastor's now quite prominent erection, the deer let out another soft groan at the slight friction, shifting his hips as Angel wiggled his own back against him.

"Seems so..."  
Alastor whispered out, eyes closing slightly as he began to grind his hips forwards against Angel's plump ass.  
He could feel how much Angel was enjoying this, and truthfully speaking, Alastor was quite enjoying this torturous teasing too. It had been quite a while since they'd been intimate together like this.

Grinning, the spider's breath hitched and closed his eyes again before letting out a moan. His own erection moving against the bedding lightly.

"You know you can be rough with me, Ed. I can take it~"  
The spider breathed out, his leg shaking a little as he pushed himself back a little harder.

The more Angel pushed himself back against Alastor, the more Alastor felt his composure crumbling away until his mind, clouded in this sudden lust, got the best of him.

Hands trailing up to the waistband of Angel's shorts, Alastor began to quickly pull them down off the spider's waist, all while still pushing himself up against Angel's rear.   
Angel had said he could be rough, so that was all the invitation he needed to do just that.

The spider helped by undoing the front button and zipper of his shorts, but let Alastor do the rest. It seemed like the Radio Demon was breaking sooner than the spider thought; not that he was complaining at all.

As the layer was removed, the bigger Alastor's thickness felt. With that came Angel's desires building to the point they hit him like a brick wall of lustful need.   
It was new to him, feeling like this without those pills and the added bond of their souls. Speaking of which, their rings gave a gentle glow every time they made contact with each other; and seemed to glow brighter now that they were in an intimate situation together.

With Angel's shorts removed and tossed somewhere in the room, Alastor was able to gently maneuver the spider onto his back.

Angel cooperated and moved as Alastor wanted him to, upper set of arms wrapping around his neck, hands tangling into Alastor's hair while the lower set removed the shirt that loosely hung off of Alastor's form.

"Anthony darling... I love you."  
Alastor whispered out, static cracking behind his words as they locked lips in a searing kiss.

Returning the kiss, the spider wrapped his legs around the deer's waist with a moan. His hips still managed to grind up against Alastor's, his now bare body shaking with need.

"I love you too, Ed~"  
The spider moaned in reply against his lover's lips, deciding to tease once again by biting and pulling Alastor's bottom lip a little with a smirk.

Alastor groaned softly against Angel's lips as he felt the spider tugging at his bottom lip with sharpened teeth, the deer fighting back, doing the same.

Once the shirt was off of his lover and tossed away, Angel's lower set of hands started undoing the pants, wanting that barrier gone completely.

The deer took note and simply snapped his fingers, the material around his lower half simply disappearing to save the hassle of getting them off.

Angel's brow raised at this but didn't question it, instead making use of his time by gently taking hold of Alastor's erect cock. His fist slowly pumping as he tilted his head to the side slightly, deepening the kiss with another moan as his breath starting to become heavier.

Alastor's breath hitched as soon as he felt the spider's hand slowly pumping his cock, the deer's tail twitching from behind him as he leaned into the pleasure.

After a few moments, Angel let go of Alastor's cock and pressed his own against him instead, now grinding roughly against the deer as best as he could given his current position.   
Feeling the heat radiating off of his lover, Angel couldn't help but embrace all of it.   
His mind cataloging these heated moments to remember later.

As soon as Angel let go of his erection shortly after, Alastor let out yet another audible groan, his hips jolting forwards until finally, he got the friction he so desired.   
Keeping their lips sealed in a heated kiss, Alastor ground himself down against Angel's own erection, one of his hands grabbing Angel's shoulder and lightly scratching down the scarred skin, knowing that the spider would get a small kick from that.

Once again, Angel moaned in reply to Alastor's groan as the old scar on his shoulder was scratched at. The hand on Alastor's ass moved up to play with the tail that seemed to be twitching in time with the spider's left leg.

With a smirk, Angel broke the kiss from Alastor's lips and started kissing down his jaw and to his neck; leaving little bites here and there with a breathy mix of a moan and chuckle.   
He knew he wasn't able to bite too hard, the venom likely going to break free and enter the Radio Demon's body. It was inevitable with the rate things were going.

Alastor, as expected, was all for the biting; groaning softy every time Angel's fanged teeth breached the top layer of his skin, pinpricks of black blood settling across the surface of Alastor's neck.   
That, paired with the sudden toying with his tail, had the deer quietly moaning now in pleasure, slightly arching his back.

Still wanting to please Angel just as he was doing to him, Alastor brought one of his own hands down further, grabbing a handful of Angel's plump ass and kneading, occasionally teasing as his other hand continued to scratch and claw at the spider's shoulder.

The hands that were tangled within Alastor's hair gently pulled his head to the side slightly to expose more skin. Angel made sure to lick up any blood that escaped the tiny punctures as he continued to fiddle with the deer's tail and grind up against him.

The spider moaned in reply to his lover's noises, loving every little huffed breath and subtle grunt he gave.   
"Tell me how bad y'want me..."  
Angel whispered softly into Alastor's neck before giving another little bite.

Keeping his eyes closed, Alastor leaned in closer to the hold he had around Angel, pressing him that bit further into the mattress as he felt the other bite another mark into his neck.   
"Darling... there's nothing I want more~"   
Alastor quietly moaned as the hand that was kneading Angel's ass trailed a little lower, just short of his asshole now.   
"I would _kill_ someone if it meant I could have you..."  
The deer practically growled.

That reply alone gave Angel an unbelievable amount of pleasure, sending chills down his spine.   
His back arched as he tried to get Alastor's fingers to their destination faster with another moan of his own; this one a little more desperate-sounding. Needy. Pleading.

The spider's free hand made its way to their grinding cocks, gripping them both now as they continued sliding against each other. His thumb rubbed lightly against their tips, causing his back to arch all the more with soft curses escaping under his breath. The mix of everything happening between his cock, shoulder, ass and tight hole was a perfect combination.

Smirking a little to himself at the reaction he got from Angel from his words, Alastor shifted his hand forwards, pulling his face away a bit and opening his eyes to see Angel's expression as he slowly pushed two fingers into his tight entrance, the oil from the previous massage still on the deer's fingers.

His head leaned back in pleasure, brows furrowing together as he felt their cocks sliding closer together, Angel's thumb lightly rubbing over their tips.  
"Oh god-"   
The Radio Demon quietly moaned, slowly moving his fingers in and out of Angel's asshole.

The spider gasped and jolted with his eyes rolling back, not expecting the deer to move in so quickly; expecting more teasing with maybe a single finger, but two entering him all at once? That was surprise that he welcomed by relaxing into it and giving a long, pleasured, growling moan.

Biting his lower lip, Angel looked up at his partner with a pleading admiration in his mismatched eyes. His hands let go of Alastor's hair and trailed down to his chest, nails grazing the skin on their way down. The hand working on the deer's tail moved itself to hold his own leg as they spread open for Alastor.

Looking down at his lover, Alastor felt a shiver run through his entire body as he locked eyes with the spider's pleading ones, feeling his nails scraping softly down his chest, adding yet another sensation into the mix.

"It's okay for you to be louder, Ed... I don't mind~"  
Angel purred with a small pleasured grin pulling at his lips.

Alastor knew that it was okay to be loud, and while listening to Angel's loud moans and pleas really got him going, the deer simply couldn't be loud. It was nothing against the spider, he simply wasn't a very vocal person when it came to this stuff, which was quite funny really.

Still continuing the thrusting of his clawed fingers into Angel's tight hole, Alastor pushed Angel a little further into the mattress as the spider spread his legs further open, giving Alastor more room to deepen his fingers within the spider, searching for the spot he knew would have Angel screaming.

"I want to hear you begging~"   
The deer purred in response.

Angel's breath became heavier as Alastor moved in deeper. He was close to the spot he was looking for, but Angel wasn't going to give in that easily.  
With a sly smirk, the spider shifted so his knee was against Alastor's chest and started lightly pushing him back so he would have the room to sit up and take control for a bit.

Alastor was a little surprised when Angel suddenly flipped them around, his fingers slipping out of the spider.

Straddling Alastor's hips now, Angel pinned the deer's wrists to the mattress with his upper set of hands while the lower set focused exclusively on teasing the deer's throbbing cock; prodding at his own ass with it.

"I _always_ do the begging though~"  
The arachnid grinned as he leaned in closer to Alastor, placing a kiss to the corner of his mouth and started trailing kisses down his jaw, then his neck and further down to his chest; making sure to kiss down the scar in the center of his chest that started their eternal bond, and made his way down his stomach next as he shifted his entire body to move down as well.

Alastor's chest was taking in and letting out shaky breaths as he felt Angel kissing down his body starting from his neck, the deer pressing his face into the pillow beside him as the other teased at his erection, knowing what the deer wanted, yet not giving it to him.

"You'll be lucky to get me begging."   
Alastor groaned, about to reach for Angel before realizing that his hands were pinned down by the spider's.

Angel gave a small chuckle, looking up at the deer with a raised brow, hands releasing Alastor's wrists slowly as he moved himself further down his torso.

"Is that a challenge, Bambi?~"  
He asked as he let out a teasing breath against Alastor's flesh, lips mere centimeters from his shaft, hands no longer pinning him to the bed.

"My goal _was_ to get some vocals from ya, but now I think it's to hear ya beg for me~"  
The spider grinned, placing the smallest kiss possible to the underside of the Radio Demon's cock.

Alastor simply smirked, ears twitching above his head as he felt Angel's teasing breath above him, so close to where he wanted him, as crude as it was to the Radio Demon.

"You know I never back down from a challenge... Anthony~"   
Voice a little strained towards the end of his words, with his hands now free, Alastor reached for Angel's hair, running his fingers through the strands as he felt the spider tease at his erection.   
It was the best kind of torture, however Alastor promised himself he would endure as much as he had to, in order to win this little bet of theirs.

Angel kept his eyes on the deer, bringing his tongue out to now caress him with it. Starting from the base and slowly working his way up, the spider let out another hot breath against Alastor's tip before wrapping his wet and warm tongue around the head with a small hum.

With the added challenge, Angel was going to take full advantage and take his sweet time. He had a feeling he knew how this was going to end, but that wasn't going to stop him from playing.

Alastor's breathing was labored, the deer trying his hardest to keep his composure just like he was usually so good at- but this was Angel, his eternal partner, and that alone was enough.

Alastor let out a small sigh of contentment as he felt the spider's tongue wrap around the tip of his cock, however Angel really was doing his damn best to keep Alastor on the edge, trying to get him to beg and Alastor was not having that. At that moment, the deer smirked, having an idea of his own.

Clenching one of his fists, Alastor dug a claw into the palm of his hand, tiny droplets of black dripping down as a result. And slowly, from the dimly lit corners of the room, Alastor commanded two small tentacles to make their way up onto the bed, steering clear of Angel at first, instead going towards himself. He didn't want to scare Angel of course.

Angel was preoccupied, thinking nothing of Alastor's actions; thinking he was simply trying to contain himself.

Swirling his tongue painfully slowly, the spider's upper set of hands moved from the deer's chest all the way down to his thighs, nails dragging along the raised skin of the scars littering Alastor's body.

Angel really did love each and every one of them. If he was allowed to, he'd spend every waking minute memorizing each scar until he could list each one and give a description of what they looked and felt like.

Slowly wrapping his lips around Alastor's tip now, his eyes closed as he slowly slid more into his mouth; the spider's tongue acting as a wet cushion for the underside. He was careful not to let his teeth so much as graze Alastor's skin.

The sudden pleasurable soft cushioning of Angel's tongue, teasing at his erection caught Alastor off guard for only a moment, the tentacles that were moving forwards, suddenly flinching back. Grunting a little louder, static-filled breathing increasing in volume, Alastor commanded the tentacles to slither a little closer to the spider.

With all of the current sensations, Angel's hot and wet mouth teasing at his cock as well as the gentle dragging of nails down his scarred skin, it was difficult for Alastor not to roll his hips and even concentrate, yet he somehow managed. Slowly, two of the tentacles reached two of Angel's hands, beginning to slither up his arms at first.

Alastor was growing impatient, and now it seemed that it was his chance to get back at Angel if he allowed him to.

Angel's eyes shot open as he pulled off with a sudden _pop_ , now looking at what was touching his hands. It took him a moment before he was able to calm down again.   
They weren't doing anything that caused him discomfort, so he didn't see much of a problem with them... _yet_.

The moment that Angel pulled off, Alastor was given a brief breather, looking down at his now leaking cock that was practically throbbing.

Taking his lover's sopping cock back into his mouth, the arachnid continued as if there was no interruption, however, kept an eye on the tentacles and glanced up at Alastor every once in a while with pleading eyes.

Alastor then commanded the tentacles to slither further up two of Angel's arms, slowly reaching his shoulders.

Angel became nervous with the tentacles roaming, but with the promises they made to each other and being bound by their souls in mind eased his post-traumatic stress from his last encounters with Alastor's abilities.   
This was about trust.

With his free hand, Alastor still lightly tugged at Angel's hair, hips jolting upwards, his actions begging for release, however, he would not outwardly say it.

The spider choked a bit as Alastor's hips suddenly thrust up but quickly recovered by relaxing his throat, keeping his half-lidded eyes on the deer while taking all of the thick erection into his mouth and throat.

Alastor was painfully close now, and while he wouldn't say it out loud, he was certain that Angel could feel it.   
Tail twitching from under him, ears fully pressed back, Alastor's hips canted even more forwards as he felt Angel's throat nursing the head of his cock, hot mouth engulfing the rest of it.

As for the tentacles; one stayed where it was around Angel's chest area, however the other slowly slithered downwards on the spider's body, gently wrapping around his waist, the end of the tentacle slowly slithering down further towards Angel's groin, teasingly.

Angel pulled off as soon as he felt Alastor thicken, signaling his impending release. Catching his breath with a breathy giggle, the spider grinned up at the Radio Demon and wiggled his hips as the tentacle wandered.

"Ya gotta beg if ya want me to keep goin'~"  
He purred with an almost evil glimmer in his eyes, once again breathing against Alastor's flesh.  
This was all too fun for him. Dragging this out for as long as he could before Alastor's pride finally crumbled was going to be a delight. All of the things he'd be able to do excited him. Torturing his lover until he cracked was going to be quite the experience for both of them.

"Anthony-"   
Alastor growled out in frustration, glaring at Angel as he caught his breath with his chest heaving, the deer resisting the urge to take matters into his own hands, or even worse, beg for release.   
With narrowed eyes, Alastor commanded the smaller tentacle to wrap around the base of Angel's cock, the one that was around the spider's shoulder slowly wandering down his back now.

Angel gave a coy giggle at the Radio Demon's distress, however the playfully evil expression he wore faltered for a moment as he felt the tentacles make their move; the spider's back arching. Regaining his composure again with a bit of difficulty, now seeing Alastor's game, Angel brought his tongue out again and ran it quickly up the deer's length with a small hum.

He could see how much fun Angel was having with this- he could sense how this was making the arachnid feel. Alastor's resolve and his pride was quickly crumbling, however he reminded himself that so long as he didn't beg, then he'd be winning.

"Ain'tcha havin' fun, Edward?~"  
He cooed, batting his lashes as he did his best to ignore the tentacles, but his left leg was betraying him by twitching uncontrollably as it always did. He wasn't sure how long he'd truly be able to last before he begged for the Radio Demon to lose control and fuck the everloving shit out of his poor little ass, which made this all the more exciting.

Angel knew Alastor was going to be hard to crack and he accepted that, but he knew he was so close to it. He could feel it all thanks to their bond.

"Yes, but the real question is... are _you_ having fun, Anthony?~"   
Alastor hummed, pleased with the falter in the spider's demeanor at the tentacle. Deciding to push it that one step further, Alastor commanded the tentacle to slowly start pumping the spider's cock, the deer moaning softly himself as he felt his own being stimulated.

He was close and from their bond, could feel that Angel was as well. However, there was no way he was backing down now.

The tentacle that was moving down Angel's back suddenly stopped as it reached his ass, curling around it, the Radio Demon flashing his lover a rather mischievous grin.

Angel confidently and almost desperately pushed himself back against the tentacle as the nails on all four hands scratched lightly against Alastor's thighs and lower abdomen, lowering his face so his throat was against the deer's shaft. The spider gave a low hum, sending the vibrations through Alastor's cock.

"So much fun~"  
Angel replied, now biting his lip with a lustful grin as he wiggled and pushed himself against the tentacle again.

Slowly, Alastor commanded the tentacle to teasingly poke and prod at Angel's eager hole, pulling itself away every time that the spider wiggled himself back.   
Two could play at that game.   
He would give Angel what he wanted, so long as he admitted defeat- and knowing Angel as well as he did, there was no way that was going to happen. So, it seemed they would be staying like this for a _long_ while.

Eyes closing at the sudden and unexpected stimulation to the outside of his shaft, vibrations from Angel's throat as he hummed caused Alastor to moan a little louder now, his back arching slightly.

Quickly regaining his composure, Alastor summoned forth yet another tentacle, having that one slither over to Angel and join the other on his cock, the both of them squeezing his erection tighter.

Alastor's reaction was priceless to Angel. The small act causing him to react so intensely was the most satisfying thing for him to see.   
Eyes narrowing, the spider figured out that he wasn't getting the satisfaction he wanted if he kept struggling, so he stayed still now. Unfortunately for Alastor, Angel was used to this kind of thing. Being in his line of work for so long, Angel had more control over his body than what someone like Alastor would have.

"I know you want me, Edward. It's okay to admit that~"  
He purred with his throat still against the deer's flesh.   
"What's it gunna take, hm?~"

It seemed that Alastor didn't take into account Angel's line of work and the fact that yes, he would of course not only have been able to last longer, but would have been able to endure much more as well.

Alastor's legs were on the verge of shaking, yet he still would not beg. His pride would still stand.

"You can do as much as you like my dear, it's not going to happen."   
He breathed out.   
"I won't give up until you admit defeat... you already know how much I want you, darling~"

Angel's grin only widened.  
"Looks like we're gunna be here for a while then. There's one thing that'll ever get me to that point and I ain't tellin' ya what that one thing is~"

He could feel the slight tremor in Alastor's body, the need only growing. Exactly what he wanted.   
Giving another hum, the spider kept himself calm and collected on the outside. The inside was a whole other story; his mind urging him to give in and beg for his life, wanting Alastor to fuck the absolute shit out of him for hours on end.   
But he wouldn't. This game was too much fun and he wanted Alastor to break. He _needed_ Alastor to break.

Then an idea came to mind.  
"I know you wanna beg your little spider for his tight little ass around your massive cock, Daddy~"  
He purred seductively with a smirk, shifting a little to suck on Alastor's tip for a moment or two before letting go with another soft _pop._

Alastor knew he wouldn't last too much longer now, and that's when he had an idea of his own. Angel's words didn't help at all- Alastor also knew that the spider was talking dirty on purpose, trying to get him to break.   
"Ugh... My dear, it seems your mouth is going to get you into more trouble than anything..."   
Alastor moaned, slowly sitting up onto an elbow and waving a hand.

All at once did the tentacle teasing Angel's ass suddenly plunge into that tight hole and simultaneously did one of the tentacles that had been on Angel's cock slither up his body, pushing into his mouth. 

Angel tilted his head slightly, about to make a sly comeback but before he could his ass was penetrated suddenly. All the spider was able to manage was a loud gasp at the sudden deep pleasure before his mouth was then filled, eyes wide and rolled back. A brief loud moan managed to escape his throat before the tentacles burrowed themselves deeper.  
The sudden burst of pleasure caused precum to start leaking from the tip of his cock.

"Now that you're all plugged, I can't see there being any more issues~ carry on darling."   
The deer had a shit-eating grin on his face, knowing that Angel wouldn't be able to tease him with his mouth- let alone even speak now.

Angel's nails dug deeper into Alastor's skin as his eyes glossed over from the amount of pleasure filling him to the brim, left leg shaking uncontrollably.   
It took him a good moment before he was able to look at the Radio Demon again, jaw closing down on the tentacle lodged in his mouth a little in attempts to get it to retract.

Unbeknownst to Angel, there was perhaps another aspect to the tentacles. Something that made the Radio Demon shiver as he began slowly thrusting the tentacle in Angel's ass, the deer letting out a gasp as the spider's jaw clenched down on the one in his mouth, the tentacle retracting with a _pop_ out of Angel's mouth, slithering away before disappearing.

Hips canting forwards, ears once again folding backward, Alastor felt himself right at the edge, so close now; but he would not beg.

Angel coughed as soon as the tentacle retracted, finally letting out the moan that was repressed and every little sound he made after was a bit choppy and stuttered as the two pumped his cock and the one wriggled harder inside of him.

Alastor could feel the sensations of the tentacle as it sped up its thrusts into Angel's tight hole, the Radio Demon's teeth clenching desperately as he tried his hardest to hold on, however ultimately failing.

"E-Edward... F-F-Fu-Fuck!!~"  
Angel was so close to breaking entirely. So close to cumming. So close to begging Alastor for more even after his release. He would be lying if he said he didn't want to.  
As the tentacle sped up, Angel's gasps and moans matched the rhythm, his body being bounced aggressively as it moved in deeper; and as it hit the spider's prostate, that was it.

"Anthony-"   
Alastor moaned in a voice that didn't even sound like his own as he was tipped over the edge, pulling Angel close to him, slamming their lips together as he felt himself cum, the hot liquid splattering his and Angel's stomachs.  
Cum spilled from Angel's tip with a loud moan as their ejaculate mixed in their synced orgasm.

Not a moment later, Angel was pulled down and his lips were suddenly captured in a sloppy and heated kiss that made him melt and his insides almost boil.   
The only problem he had with this situation was that his insides were void of the hot sticky liquid that instead shot against their outsides. He wasn't ready to finish.   
Not without the Radio Demon filling him with his hot extract.

Compared to before they were bound together, they felt so much more in sync now than ever before, Alastor feeling like he felt their pleasure as _one_ rather than together separately. And because they were so in sync, Alastor could feel that despite the two of their powerful orgasms, Angel wasn't quite finished yet. And neither was he.   
He could tell that Angel wanted more.

Taking a moment to bask in the afterglow of the orgasm, Alastor slumped back against the bedding, lips detaching from his lover, his chest heaving as he brought an arm over his eyes.

Angel collapsed on top of Alastor, panting and whimpering softly as he started to catch his breath.   
It took him a moment to pull away from the tentacle fully, having it leave his body with a moan. The emptiness that it brought made the arachnid pout, kissing Alastor's lips again sweetly with a small giggle; the spider started kissing his way down to the Radio Demon's stomach to lick him clean.

"Anthony... I'm not done with you yet-"   
He still managed to purr out, for once not caring about the mess that covered the both of their stomachs.

"Thank god... I'm not done with you yet either. You still have to beg for me~"  
Angel purred in reply as he started using his tongue to lick their mess up off of the deer's stomach, giving small bites once in a while; adding bits of suction to leave little marks on the Radio Demon's skin.   
He knew Alastor would want to rest a bit before continuing, so Angel was going to grant him at least that bit of mercy.


	17. Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice (pt. 2)

Pulling an arm around Angel as he collapsed onto his chest above him, Alastor spent a brief moment running his fingers through the spider's hair, regaining his breath.  
The tentacles, as they pried themselves off and out of Angel's body, retreated to the void in the corner of the room, the wound on Alastor's palm then closing up.

"Hmm, I'm afraid that's never going to happen, my love."   
Alastor grinned, eyes closing in bliss at the sensation of Angel kissing and gently licking down his stomach, the slightly more stimulating little bite marks adding to the pleasant feelings.

"You can do all you want to me, at the end of the day, it will be _you_ begging for _me_ ~"   
Voice a little more sultry, Alastor made a mental note to keep his word.

Angel couldn't help but give another giggle.  
"You talk a big game for someone who's been abstinent for ninety percent of his existence compared to someone who's been doin' this for as long as they can remember~"  
He replied between supple kisses and nibbles.  
"You forget I've got _years-_ almost a _century's worth_ of experience. I know how t'break someone in every way possible. You might be a bit of a challenge, but a challenge I'll be happy to accept~"

Breathing having regulated to a near-normal level, it was no surprise that very quickly did a now quite familiar feeling begin to settle in the pits of his stomach yet again. A feeling he was certain Angel would pick up on now- after all, he had said he wasn't finished with the spider just yet.

"It may be true that I am not a sexual being in the slightest, however, I think you, Anthony, are forgetting that _I_ never lose~"   
He chuckled darkly, trailing a clawed finger up Angel's jaw, catching the claw right in the edge of the spider's bottom lip.

Angel shifted upwards again with a grin of his own, lidded mismatched eyes gazing into Alastor's deep red orbs.   
"Eddie, baby. I'm gunna make sure you eat those words~"  
He stated.

This moment would have usually been quite romantic, the two of them staring deep into each other's eyes after such an intimate moment, however with the two of their added bets, it was still romantic, but quite competitive as well.   
"Haha, you'll be wishing you hadn't said that later on my darling Anthony."

Placing another sweet kiss to his lover's lips, this being a sort of distraction while Alastor regained some of his strength after the first orgasm of hopefully many that evening. Angel was starved and craved being this close to his partner like this. The challenge only made things more interesting.

Alastor soon closed his eyes, blissfully melting into the kisses on his lips while he momentarily rested, silently grateful for that small ounce of mercy.

The plan Angel had devised was a good one, however, the skill required was new and he had no experience in using it except for what had happened perhaps an hour prior.

Keeping their lips connected, the spider clenched one of his lower fists just as he'd seen Alastor do in the past, breaking the skin of his palm without a reaction. The pain was almost pleasant.   
As expected, the spider's own tentacles emerged from the floor close to the bed.

The Radio Demon's eyes stayed closed, not realizing that this sweetly heated kiss was a distraction from something Angel was mustering.

One of Angel's eyes cracked open and looked towards the four tentacles he'd summoned and instructed them to move closer.   
It was a fairly easy task once he'd gotten used to it, having two wrap around the deer's wrists and the other two carefully caressing his cheeks; the two around Alastor's wrists tightened and held him down.

"I ain't gunna regret shit. _You_ , on the other hand, are gunna regret challengin' me like this~"  
The spider cooed as he sat up, shifting slightly to properly straddle the Radio Demon's hips with a shit-eating grin of his own.

Alastor raised a brow, his eyes shooting open at the feeling of his wrists being restrained. Naturally thinking that these tentacles were his own, of course Alastor was a bit confused at first, however quickly remembered that only recently had Angel discovered that he too could now summon tentacles since their bond, albeit smaller ones.

It certainly would be interesting to see how this played out regardless. In Alastor's eyes, Angel was simply one-upping him in terms of this bet, so the deer was of course obliged to take everything that was thrown his way until Angel eventually gave up.

"Go on then, my dear. You may get me to regret this ultimately, however, to beg for release will not be one thing happening this fine evening!"

Angel bit his lip as he looked down upon his lover, the two extra tentacles he'd summoned wriggling their way into Alastor's palms and tightly wrap around his hands so he wouldn't be able to defend himself or interrupt the fun with his own abilities.

With a grin and small growl emitting from his throat, Angel began lightly grinding his ass against the deer's cock.   
"You're in for one hell of a ride, Ed. You dunno what you're gettin' yourself into~"

Alastor had to admit, he was pleasantly surprised that Angel seemed comfortable enough now with his new attribute from the Radio Demon to be using it already. Not only that, but it seemed that he'd already gotten the hang of things- and although it wasn't ultimately difficult, Alastor still felt somewhat proud of his lover.

"Oh Anthony dearest, if you think for a second that I cannot take it, then you are gravely mistaken."   
Smirking to himself, Alastor managed to keep his cool as Angel began grinding down against his already half-hard cock. However, since he'd came recently, Alastor was able to keep his composure better now.   
"You'll be glad you restrained my hands, to say the least~"

Angel leaned down again and hummed, placing gentle kisses around the deer's face.   
"Il mio amore, you're gunna hate it. I _know_ I'll be able to break ya~"

The spider then started kissing down Alastor's jaw and neck once again, giving bites here and there now that he knew he was able to control himself, the venom safely contained.

Alastor chuckled out a small laugh, understanding what Angel had said.   
"I could never hate anything you do, mon chéri."   
He nodded in confidence, eyes closing once again as Angel began to kiss and bite down his body, holding back moans as the skin broke. 

Shifting lower and lower as he went, the arachnid kissed down the scar again and a few of the others on his way further down. He finally reached Alastor's cock again, kissing up and down his hardening shaft gingerly.

When he reached his shaft, Alastor finally let out a low hum of pleasure, simply concentrating on the sensations of Angel's tongue and lips.   
"Je t'aime, mon amour..."

It was those intimate moments, the slow teasing ones that Alastor supposed he loved the most. The moments where the two of them didn't have a single care down in Hell, they were simply left to enjoy each other's company.

"Ti amo anch'io, mio re~"  
The spider replied softly, quickly concluding that because of their bond; he was now able to understand everything that Alastor said no matter the language.   
This could be a fun thing to experiment with.

Slowly taking the tip into his mouth, Angel gave a low hum as he slowly slid his head down further; taking more of the deer's length in until it just barely hit his throat before slowly pulling up again.

Alastor would admit, he had never been a fan of anything oral in the bedroom- or really a fan of _anything_ to be perfectly honest, however, Angel Dust was certainly making him rethink quite a great deal of that.

As Alastor felt the tip of his length hit the back of the spider's throat, a grunt left his lips, his arms straining against the tentacles as he fought the urge to grab Angel's head and pull him down for a longer time and stop the teasing.   
This was going to be a long night indeed.

Angel could feel Alastor's impatience growing once again, which meant his strategy was working.   
Letting his tongue linger against the deer's tip as he removed his mouth, Angel couldn't help but grin.

"Wait here."  
He stated as he got up from the bed, leaving the room for a few moments.

Alastor raised a brow in curiosity as Angel clambered down off the bed and out of the room. With Angel momentarily gone, Alastor lay still on the bed, the tentacles still restraining his hands on either side of him.

Coming back with a nonchalant hum, the spider held the lower set of arms behind his back as he got back on the bed.  
"How adventurous are ya feelin'?~"

Alastor's eyes narrowed. The spider was planning something.   
"Try me."   
The deer nodded, once again with confidence.  
All options and new suggestions were open for once in the Radio Demon's book, however, the _one thing_ that was off the table was begging. Nothing would wreck his pride as much as that would.

Angel grinned.   
"Perfect~"  
Making sure whatever he had behind his back stayed hidden, Angel brought one of the items up, just a long piece of black silk; and carefully blindfolded Alastor with it. Nothing like a bit of sensory play to enhance his other senses and get him closer to his breaking point.

Alastor watched until he could no longer and the silk of the blindfold covered his eyes, the dim room around him going dark. And now, he supposed it was up to his ears and other senses to determine what Angel was really up to.

Because of the bond, Angel didn't see much of a need for a safe word. He'd be able to feel Alastor's distress and see it in his body language. Surely it wouldn't get to that point though, if Alastor was to beg, everything would stop immediately.

A snap could be heard as Angel opened a bottle and started to lubricate a finger.

At the sound of a bottle cap opening, Alastor supposed he could guess what that was, given the context of everything and the situation, however, what he hadn't been expecting was for it to be used for his benefit.

Lowering himself so he was breathing against Alastor's cock, Angel put his lubricated finger to the deer's asshole, teasingly prodding as he licked and kissed his shaft.

The second Alastor felt a finger prodding at his entrance, the deer froze. The last time someone had even touched that in some way, shape or form, was during his time with Lucifer all those years ago; so sensitivity was a given and Alastor had mentioned to Angel a while back that he didn't share an exclusive dominant of submissive role- so the deer knew for a fact, this _might_ just break him.

Alastor groaned softly in regards to the stimulation of his cock, trying his hardest to ignore the feeling that Angel prodding his hole gave him. He _still_ refused to beg.

Angel slowly pushed a finger into the deer's ass with a small smirk as he watched Alastor's reactions closely to make sure he wasn't taking this too far.   
Then again, there weren't any lines drawn or rules placed.

Alastor's back arched in the slightest at the small intrusion, being able to practically feel Angel's smirk from the distance they were at; but he hadn't won yet. Alastor kept on reminding himself that.

The spider's lower set of hands started preparing the next little thing.  
"How ya holdin' up, Eddie? Ready to beg for me yet?~"  
He whispered against his cock.

"I'm fine. This is but a mere obstacle in the road."   
He tried to speak with a level head, however, a good portion of his words came out shaky, the hot breathing against his cock not helping in the slightest.  
He supposed it was because of the blindfold that his other senses were doing as they were with such heightened sensitivity. Very clever on Angel's part.

With a raised brow, having picked up on the shakiness of his voice, Angel slowly inched his finger in deeper with a bit of a twist and a wiggle to ensure he hit the deer's inner walls.

"Good. Glad to hear it~"  
He purred, giving one last kiss to Alastor's shaft before taking his tip into his mouth again, once again slowly moving his head down until he hit the back of his throat before pulling back up. Angel's upper set of hands started to gently scratch up and down Alastor's scarred torso for added sensations.  
The tentacles around the Radio Demon's hands and wrists tightened and lightly pulled his arms up so his hands were above his head.

It was all so much, Alastor biting down a little on the inside of his cheek to stop his moans from coming out too loud- he only knew they'd give Angel the satisfaction.

"Anthony-"   
He managed to let out, bucking his hips upwards in attempts to get Angel further down on his cock and get away from the finger in his hole, the one thing he knew would eventually break him.   
"Just wait until I get out of these restraints-"

Angel's upper set of hands set themselves on Alastor's hips and forced them back down, mouth now releasing him and finger leaving his ass. However, a small object took the finger's place in pressing against the Radio Demon's tense hole; a pill-shaped object that was able to fit in one's hand with a small silicone extension for easy removal.

"Awww, are you threatening lil ol' me? I'm so scared~"  
Angel chuckled with staged fear, looking to Alastor's face with narrowed eyes as he slowly pushed the toy into his lover.   
"You know what you have to do to be let go, Ed. It really ain't that difficult~"

Alastor attempted to look down as Angel sat back, a foreign and significantly cooler object entering him unexpectedly, the deer giving a rough grunt before raising a brow in curiosity. Angel would be able to tell that he was curious, yet not against whatever it was.  
The Radio Demon could also sense the spider's faux fear, it almost being funny had the current situation have been different.

"No, I won't. I'm just as stubborn as you are my dear."   
Alastor breathed out, once again gaining his composure now that Angel's mouth was not around his erection.

Angel gave another chuckle.  
"Hmm... maybe if I skip right to the maximum setting then?~"  
He thought out loud.

Alastor frowned in confusion. Of course, he couldn't actually see what was just put into him, and by no means could actually guess what it was either, so Angel's words only confused him.

Picking up a little remote, the spider started to move back up to Alastor's face slowly to place a careful kiss to his lips. He didn't want to move too quickly and startle the blinded deer after all.

"Excuse me?"   
He asked, clearing his throat, suddenly feeling his lover's lips against his own, shutting him up. Alastor happily kissed Angel back; unfortunately, unable to cup the others cheek with his hands bound.

Angel kept his lips against Alastor's as he looked to the remote and hit the button on it seven times quickly so it would hit the maximum setting without giving the Radio Demon much time to prepare himself; the object bursting to life inside of him with intense vibrations that Angel could even feel just by touching the deer's chest.

When he felt the thing within him bursting to life with its powerful vibrations for such a small device, the Radio Demon's back arched from underneath Angel, a loud whine of a moan- one he couldn't stop, leaving his mouth as he attempted to get away from the pressure of the small thing inside him.   
"A-An-"   
He couldn't even finish his lover's name from the overwhelming pleasure, his cock throbbing, ears twitching from above his head.

Angel gave a coy giggle as their kiss was broken and interpreted by Alastor's sudden moans, straddling Alastor's hips now with his tight hole teasing the deer's cock, the vibrations being easily felt by the spider with a soft moan of his own.

"All ya gotta do is beg for me and I'll let ya loose. But until then, this is gunna be your life~"  
Angel gave a lust filled grin as he teased the head, pushing himself down just enough for it to enter his ass and pulling off again.

Angel was truly playing dirty, and while it was overwhelmingly painful to be in such a pride crumbling situation, the Radio Demon still couldn't help but love the torture.

He was going to cum if this stimulation didn't stop, there was no question about it; and knowing Angel, he'd keep going again and again until one of them gave up. Unfortunately for Alastor, the arachnid didn't seem like he was going to give up any time soon.

His legs were shaking, radio static cracking loudly around him.   
"I can't- A-Anthony... _please_..."   
And there it was, the one thing Alastor hadn't wanted to do; but it seemed that Angel Dust had bested him this evening.

If Angel wasn't so damn proud of himself, he would have pouted and complained that he was having fun; which he was, but to know he'd broken Alastor was just too perfect. Because he was having a lot of fun with this, he thought he'd give a little more torture, knowing the Radio Demon was actually really enjoying this.

The spider leaned down and nibbled the deer's jaw, whispering.  
"What was that? Couldn't hear ya. Gotta speak up for me, Eddie~"  
His new goal before letting Alastor go was to get him to be a little more vocal. Even if it was just for a moment.

Alastor gasped, his entire body shaking and sweating.   
"Please A-Anthony... please-"   
He managed to moan a little louder just as the spider wanted. His pride had completely disintegrated, so there was no use in holding anything back now.  
Alastor struggled a little more against the tentacles, bucking his hips upwards against Angel, leaning into the nibbles against his jaw.

Angel gave a small huff before complying and pushing himself down against Alastor's cock, for now, playing dumb and assuming that was what he wanted seeing as there were no direct words of instruction; only hints Alastor's body gave.

Taking him in completely, Angel's tight warmth allowed the deer to slide right in. With a moan, the spider started to lightly bounce himself, leaving the blindfold on and the active toy inside of his lover.

"Is this whatcha wanted?~"  
He questioned with a smirk.

There were small specs of tears that Alastor could feel gathering in the corners of his closed and blindfolded eyes the moment he felt a hot and tight heat suddenly engulf his weeping cock. Letting out a pained moan of his own, Alastor struggled against the restraints a little more, which made them tighten.

"Please- turn it off Anthony~"   
Alastor begged freely, the stimulation from that tiny toy inside of him being too much for the Radio Demon to handle, let alone get his head around.

That, and the fact that he wanted to enjoy the sensation of Angel lightly bouncing upon his length before things got a little... _rougher_ once Alastor was out of those restraints of his.

"Only because you asked nicely~"  
The spider purred, turning the device off and reached behind him to slowly remove it all while keeping his slow and careful pace.

He had to admit, he was really enjoying the vibrations transferring through the deer, but he'd gotten what he wanted and the bet was over. He didn't want his lover to suffer too much. Alastor might never want to do this again if he let it go too far and only think of himself.

Alastor let out an audible sigh of relief the moment the vibrations stopped and the device was removed. His rear was still extremely sensitive, however, that didn't matter. With Angel softy bouncing on of his cock now, the Radio Demon was finally getting the pleasure he desired that wasn't overwhelming.  
It wouldn't be long before he came though, with all of the previous stimulation having brought him so close to the edge time and time again.

Angel looked to Alastor again, starting to ride a little more aggressively now as his own moans escaped his throat.   
Slowly, the tentacles holding the Radio Demon's hands up began loosening as Angel took his lover's hands and slowly guided them to his waist, the tentacles making their way back to where they came from.

He wasn't aware of what Alastor had planned for when he got free, simply thinking he'd remain docile now that things had been toned down a bit.   
Leaning down, Angel started kissing Alastor's lips again as he continued to move his hips.

The tentacles finally left his wrists, and Alastor had to physically stop himself from grinning too wide. As Angel brought his hands down to his waist, Alastor slowly took one away, instead reaching for the silk strip that shielded his eyes, easily slipping it off and tossing it aside.  
And now, he had full reign once again. Placing a gentle kiss to Angel's lips as he began to sit up, Alastor snapped his fingers, the two of their positions immediately switching, Alastor pinning Angel down to the bed now as he pulled out.

Angel's eyes widened slightly, the empty feeling hitting him once again which caused him to whine softly.

"Thank you, my dear~"   
The deer purred right where Angel's ear was, bringing another hand up to cup the spider's jaw; a shiver running through the arachnid's body at the soft voice and hot breath against his ear and the touches.

"You're welcome~"  
He purred back, licking the deer's cheek with a grin of his own.   
"Whatcha gunna do now, huh?~"  
Angel's hips wiggled a bit in anticipation, lower set of hands moving down Alastor's chest slowly.

Alastor paused for just a brief moment, feeling Angel's hips wiggling from underneath him.

"Mhm, you'll see."   
He grinned, glancing down for a second before surging his hips forwards, roughly pushing into Angel's tight ass with a groan. He was close once again, so he'd make the most of this while he could.  
The Radio Demon wasn't known for showing mercy, and this situation was certainly no different. He roughly began thrusting into the spider, holding him down with one hand, the other hand gently running through the spider's hair.

The sudden force and depth that penetrated him caused Angel's back to arch, eyes to widen and mouth to open. He would have gasped or let out a loud moan but it all got stuck in his throat; breath ceasing as well, all thanks to the sudden shock.

The spider's eyes rolled back as his body bounced harshly with each of Alastor's thrusts, his prostate suddenly being aggressively abused.   
It took a few moments before Angel was finally able to find his breath again and release a loud and pleading moan through his labored breathing that matched up with the pounding his ass was taking.

Alastor was grinning widely at the immediate reaction he got from his lover. He wanted to say something, perhaps make a witty comment, however, his mind was too overwhelmed in the final pleasure as he chased his own orgasm, the deer moaning rather loudly as he felt Angel's ass tightening all the more.

It wasn't long before Angel came once again, the pleasure being far too much for him to handle all at once. His hole tightened and pulsated around the deer, hoping to milk him dry as his own hot seed shot from the tip of his cock and onto their stomachs with another loud growling moan, body quivering and shaking violently.

Hips violently jolting forwards, the headboard of the bed smacking against the wall, Alastor felt that sweet release, his cock thickening against Angel's tight walls as he gave one final thrust, filling his lover with hot cum; ears and tail twitching.   
His legs gave out from underneath him, the deer falling forwards on top of the arachnid, letting his face rest in the crevice of Angel's neck, breathing hotly against his fur, lightly nipping down.

The spider's body shook and trembled as he was filled to the brim, satisfaction taking over his entire being with a wide lust filled smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Panting and whimpering, Angel's arms found their way around Alastor's body in a weak yet loving embrace. He couldn't speak; his breathing too heavy and shallow as he came down from the pure and natural ecstasy. The spider's lower set of hands moved down a bit and fiddled with the deer's tail, noticing it was twitching a bit.   
Giving a breathy chuckle, Angel kissed Alastor's neck in return and decided to leave his tail alone for now.

Slowly, with as much energy as his body allowed him to exert, Alastor trailed the kisses and light nibbles all the way up to Angel's lips, finally settling there in a tired, lazy kiss.   
His tail and ears were twitching still, but he was satisfied. Completely spent, but satisfied.  
He was too lazy to even pull out of Angel at this point, simply snapping his fingers, a blanket settling over their bodies, the lights turning out.

"I love you..."   
Alastor panted softly against the spider's lips, reaching his hand out for one of his lovers, feeling their rings knock against each other as their fingers intertwined.  
The stones in their rings giving a small spark as they touched, Angel giving another small chuckle as he returned the kiss.

Alastor smiled at the spark that briefly lit upon their rings touching, the Radio Demon bringing his other hand to run through Angel's hair now.

"I love you too..."  
He replied as he started to regain control of his breathing and his body finally began to fully relax again and loosen around the deer; having gotten all he wanted.   
"I'm sorry if I... went a little too far-"  
Angel added softly as he ran his fingers lightly up and down his lover's back.

Slowly, he shook his head, eyes closing as he took to letting his head rest further down upon the top of Angel's chest fluff.

"No, my dear, you have nothing to apologize for."   
He explained, having regained some breath as well.   
"It was an experiment. I'm glad that you enjoyed it. So long as you are happy, then I am too."

Angel couldn't help but smile a bit more, kissing Alastor's forehead lightly.  
"It doesn't really work like that, but alright."  
He replied with a small huff. His mismatched eyes looked up at the ceiling for a few moments before they closed again.

"I love you."  
The arachnid whispered again softly, giving the deer a gentle squeeze.  
Exhaustion was starting to really set in now that his climax had settled and all was calm once again. It was the perfect release after having gone so long without the connection between them.

Alastor too was suddenly feeling a heavy wave of exhaustion now that his body was satisfied, and he could sense that Angel was feeling the same way. After all, they were in sync now.

"I love you too."   
Alastor whispered back once again, still gently running one hand through Angel's hair.   
"Sleep my love... it's late."   
He added, his own eyes slowly lidding in exhaustion as he buried himself a little deeper into the spider's chest fluff.

Giving a nod, Angel let himself melt into the mattress and allowed the inevitability of deep restful sleep take over. There was no point in fighting it. He wasn't able to move anyways.   
Those last moments were enough to keep him immobile for a while yet even if he did want to move for some reason.

This evening was successful in many ways and Angel couldn't have been more content with the outcome.


	18. The Basement

Alastor slept that night as he had done every single night that passed since he and Angel had established their bond- he was as comfortable and as well-rested as anything when he awoke the next morning, eyes tired and body, specifically the lower half, aching quite a bit. Despite the mild aching, he was still in the arms of his lover, exactly how he'd fallen asleep.

The Radio Demon was usually quite the early riser, so it was no surprise that he was up before Angel; and yes, while he was rather comfortable like this, there also came an uncomfortableness from where liquids from the previous night's events had dried, leaving Alastor and no doubt Angel too, in much need of a shower.

Tiredly groaning to himself, Alastor slowly rolled off of his lover, face scrunching at the feeling of stickiness between them. He was tired but had to get up.

Angel felt a small disturbance and the weight lift off of him as Alastor removed himself. The fur on his stomach was pulled as it tried to stick to Alastor's skin, causing the spider to wince and give a small groan at the discomfort.

"Everything okay babe...?"  
He asked with a hoarse voice and still half asleep.   
The spider's eyes slowly peeled open to look at his lover even though their bedroom was still quite dark, a hand shifting to gently rub at the deer's back.

Alastor heard the small noise coming from Angel and looked down, smiling softly with a nod.   
"Yes, my apologies for waking you, however, it is morning. You may continue to rest if you wish, there's no rush, my dear."  
He explained, leaning up to place a small kiss to Angel's cheek.  
"I was getting up to wash, I'm in much need of it, haha."  
The deer chuckled lightly, looking down at himself with a tut and shake of his head.

Angel's face scrunched with a smile at the kiss, eyes trailing down to himself as well. With a small hum, he nodded.  
"I should probably get cleaned up too before I think about goin' back to sleep... don't wanna mess the sheets up even more-"

Taking a breath and preparing himself for mild pain and discomfort, Angel soon slowly began to sit up. His behind, in particular, seemed to hurt, surprise surprise; and his legs twitched a bit as his sore back popped.  
"Sweet fuckin' Christ-"  
Angel tutted with a small laugh, hunching forwards as he rubbed his eyes and face with his upper set of hands.

Managing to properly sit up himself, Alastor frowned. There were clothes haphazardly thrown around the room, and the bed was in quite the state.   
Turning back to Angel as he watched him sit up, Alastor again chuckled.   
"Are you alright? It seems that massage I gave you must seem quite pointless now, hm?"  
He laughed. Running a hand through his hair, brushing out his ears with his fingers, Alastor sighed. 

Angel huffed a small laugh and shook his head.  
"You can always give me another one later. I ain't gunna complain."  
He replied softly, leaning in to place a small kiss to his lover's shoulder and trailed small pecks up to Alastor's neck and jaw before moving himself to the edge of the bed, leaving a sticky puddle behind.

Alastor smiled at all the kisses that trailed up his neck and jaw, silently appreciating them before he moved himself to the other edge of the bed, keeping one hand on the mattress as he stood.

"I'll... clean that up."  
Angel sighed a bit as he looked back at the mess left behind, putting his booted feet on the floor and carefully started to stand on his weak legs, looking almost like a newborn foal.

While yes, the room was a bit too messy for Alastor's liking, it wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed in a matter of seconds. He would focus on that later. Snapping his fingers, a dark red robe appeared around his frame as he stood properly.   
"I shall make us some breakfast once we're all cleaned up."

Looking across to Angel, he noticed that he was still rather shaky on his legs.   
"Need any help, my love?"   
Alastor asked, slowly walking around the bed to his lover, offering his arm.

Angel couldn't help but smile, taking the arm offered to him.  
"Thanks, Ed."  
This man, the arachnid swore, was far too good for him. It confused him to no end but was still forever grateful for everything. Even through the pain and suffering physical, mental and emotional. He couldn't have asked for a better person to be bound to.

Angel made sure to be careful with his steps, not wanting to trip and bring them both down.   
"Ya did a good number on me last night, I'll give ya that."  
The spider stated as they moved out of the bedroom and towards the bathroom.

Carefully leading Angel out of their room, down the hall and into the bathroom, Alastor grinned.   
"Haha! Why it was certainly my intention to keep going had the both of us not been so tired!"  
He laughed as if it were nothing, closing the bathroom door behind them once they were in.  
"But I will say that you did quite the number on me too. It was an adventure, I can certainly say that for sure, haha!"

Angel snorted in attempts to hold back a laugh.  
"Whatever ya say, Bambi."

Moving to the shower, the spider started running the water so it would be warm and welcoming when they stepped in. Leaning against the wall, he started removing his boots and set them aside.

"I'm glad we did that though. For a lotta reasons. Feels like we're closer- if that's even possible."

With the shower running, Alastor moved over to the sink and mirror, splashing his face with some cold water to help wake himself up a bit quicker.  
"Oh yes, I feel closer as well, however, if that is possible, I don't know either."  
He chuckled, running a hand through his hair before turning back around.  
Alastor honestly didn't know _how_ they could feel closer than what they were before, but he did. And he was glad for it too, this all meant so much to him.

Shifting a little closer, Angel wrapped his arms around Alastor's neck and waist with a small smile.   
It was probably the fact they both had to work so much and spend so much time away from each other that made Angel want to always be touching his partner, or maybe it was the general need his soul was pushing onto him. Either way, the craving was very much there.

Bringing a hand up to brush his fingers through Alastor's hair, Angel tilted his head slightly, smile growing a bit.  
"Y'know you're handsome as fuck, right?"

Alastor moved himself close to Angel, bringing a hand to cup the spider's jaw with a small laugh.

"And do you know that I could say the exact same about you?"  
He grinned, chuckling softly to himself.   
"I think you're both handsome, charming and everything I could have ever wanted within a mate."  
Slowly letting go of Angel, Alastor led him over to the running shower, knowing it was relatively warm due to the steam filling the room.

Somehow Angel already knew how Alastor felt about him, but actually hearing him say those things just made his heart flutter even more.

Letting himself be guided, the spider's smile widened as he stepped into the running water. The water ran over his body, flattening his chest fluff; the scar that ran down the center becoming visible.

Turning to the Radio Demon again, Angel started pulling the tie around his waist and remove his robe.  
"C'mon you. You're gross."  
He teased.

Alastor laughed, undoing the robe by the tie and throwing it over one of the bathroom counters.   
"I could also say the same for you, my love."  
He smirked, soon stepping into the shower behind Angel, his hair and ears flattening down against his head.

"Is there anything you'd like for breakfast? I shall make you whatever you wish."  
Alastor asked, closing the shower door behind him once he'd stepped in, facing Angel.

Angel pursed his lips in thought for a moment before shaking his head.  
"Nothin' specific, no. Whatever ya wanna make."  
He replied, bringing his upper set of hands up to run through Alastor's hair, slicking it back as it became wetter.

The spider couldn't help but laugh as his lover's fluffy deer ears started to mat under the water, leaning to look over his shoulder to see what his tail looked like.  
"Y'look like a wet rat."  
Angel chuckled with a shake of his head.   
"A handsome wet rat. But still a rat."

Alastor leaned into Angel's hand as he pushed his hair back, looking over his own shoulder down at his tail at the comment.   
"Yes, well, rats have longer tails than I."  
He laughed, rolling his eyes with a smirk.  
Looking Angel up and down, Alastor pressed a hand to the spider's now flat chest fluff, seeing the scar that the imp had made upon removing his soul.  
"It healed quite quickly. I'm glad it did."  
He nodded, using his free hand to grab some soap.

"Probably that stuff the old bastard gave us."  
Angel stated with a small shrug, one of his own hands moving to Alastor's chest in return.

Angel, too, grabbed his own bottle of shampoo and put some in his palm before working it into the fur off his chest to start and started working his way over the rest of his body, mainly focusing on the mess that still resided on his stomach; adding soap as he needed to.

"I must admit,"   
Alastor began, grabbing some other type of shampoo and lathering it into his hair and ears.  
"I did not expect there to be quite as much mess as there was."  
He chuckled, monitoring to Angel's stomach as he worked the mess out.

Angel's brows raised slightly as a smirk pulled at his lips.  
"If there's no mess, ya didn't do it right."

"However, I feel as if consummating this bond between us has only made it stronger. If you get where I'm coming from, my dear."

Eyes moving up to Alastor for a moment, he gave a small shrug.  
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."  
If he was completely honest, he still had quite a bit of waking up to do, so his mind wasn't properly working just yet.

Reaching up, Angel batted Alastor's hands away from his head and took over, massaging behind his ears as he started washing his hair for him while his lower set of hands continued working on himself.

Rolling his eyes once again with a smirk, Alastor lowered his hands, allowing Angel to do as he wished with his ears and hair, quite enjoying the massaging.

"Ya got enough hair for a little ponytail here, Ed."  
Angel grinned, raising a brow as he held Alastor's hair up for a moment.

"A ponytail? Oh no no, I've done it once, never again."  
He chuckled, reaching up to Angel's hair and flattening some of the fluff down that had stuck up from the shampoo.

While Angel focused on his hair, Alastor got to washing and rinsing the rest of his body, removing almost all traces of the previous night.

"I think it would look good. You're gunna try it for me."  
Angel pressed, working through the rest of Alastor's hair while being careful of the little antlers. Out of curiosity, he started spiking the fur on his ears and laughed a bit before shaking his head and started rinsing the suds out.

The spider then started working on himself fully while some of the shampoo got out of Alastor's hair, slicking his own hair back and really massaging the soap in.

Shrugging, Alastor let Angel do as he wished with his hair, not bothering to argue since he seemed to be enjoying it too.

"I remember having a rather 'stylish' ponytail during my young teen years, haha! Those were the days. However, looking back on it now, I realize it was quite the disaster."  
Laughing mainly to himself at those memories, Alastor brought his head under the shower fully, getting rid of all of the suds.

Angel raised a brow, shaking his head.  
"Like I'm gunna believe that."  
He replied as his upper set of hands continued to help work on Alastor's hair.  
"I'm still gunna make y'do it. Just around me. I wouldn't make ya go out like that if either of us thought it looked bad, 'course."

With all of the soap gone, Angel started rinsing his own hair and fur out again.

"Well, whether you believe it or not, it happened my dear."   
He nodded, not really bothered whether his lover believed him or not.

"Say, have you told your sister about our rings yet?"   
Alastor then asked, turning towards the spider, flicking a few bubbles out of his hair.  
Then that brought up another question. When would Angel's prized lump of bacon be returning? He knew that it was currently in Molly's possession, so would it be returning any time soon?

Angel shook his head in reply, letting the water run over his body and through his hair.  
"Not yet. Been busy with work and shit. I should probably tell her soon, huh?"  
He paused, thinking about that for a moment.  
"She might beat my ass... but then again maybe not."  
He'd gotten a few messages from his sister but it never crossed his mind to tell her about the rings.

Nodding, Alastor placed the soap back on the small shelf in the shower.   
"Yes, I do suggest telling her. And I suppose you can only hope her reaction is all good things- I know she isn't entirely fond of me still."  
And whether Molly was fond of her brother's decision to become soul bound to Alastor or not, unfortunately she wouldn't be able to do very much about any of it. The two of them couldn't exactly undo what was done, and it wasn't like either wanted to undo it anyway.

"After breakfast then probably."  
Angel sighed, the heat of the water starting to help with his aching body and wake him up a bit more.   
He had to admit he'd never had a more soothing shower in his existence.

"When do ya work next?"  
Angel decided to ask. Because of his new overlord position, the arachnid was still working away at reorganizing and recruiting employees. He was still going through old files and cleaning up literally everything in the building and the industry in general. It was definitely going to take him a long while, so downtime was going to be rare.

Alastor had to think about that question for a moment, raising his chin in thought as he hummed.   
"I have a couple of things to take care of down in the basement today; and I have a meeting or two coming up in a few days."   
He explained.   
"However, that is all I can remember off the top of my head."  
There was definitely more he had planned in terms of keeping busy being the ruler of Hell, however remembering everything could sometimes be quite the challenge.  
"There are a few deals that I am certain will be made quite soon, so I shall be working towards getting those sorted too between a few demons."

"Guess that ain't too bad. Wanna come by and help me at the studio when ya got time? That shit bag was so messy. Throwin' papers where ever the hell he wanted. I started goin' through his filing cabinet the other day and, I shit you not, it was an entire disaster. Niffty would've had a fuckin' mental breakdown- times a thousand."  
Angel ranted with a huff, his irritation with the situation seeming to grow at the mere recollection of it all.  
"How he operated and stayed sane is a whole miracle on its fuckin' own."

Alastor could only laugh, not even wanting to imagine the mess of paperwork. Being quite the neat freak himself, messes of any sort were not at all tolerable in his opinion.   
"Yes, I'm positive I can help with organizing some papers and what have you, haha. Just give me a date and I'll be sure to make my appearance."

Even with Angel having taken over the studios, Alastor still tended to keep his distance. There were still other demons who worked with Angel that Alastor preferred the steer clear of. However, when it came to Angel, he was always willing to help where necessary.

Giving a small groan, Angel put his forehead against Alastor's chest, sopping wet hair covering his lover's torso.  
"Thank you... it's so boring there and I can't focus when it's just me..."  
He admitted.  
"This bond is great but I swear bein' away from you is really fuckin' painful when we go any more than an hour apart..."

Alastor brought a hand down to rest against Angel's back as he leaned against him, voicing his thoughts on the strain of them being away from each other for periods of time longer than an hour.   
"I know it's difficult Anthony... I feel it too, but when we come together after our time away, I feel a deep satisfaction within my soul and I am positive that is the bond too."

With a sigh, Angel stood up straight again and made sure he was properly rinsed off before shutting the water off.

Pressing a kiss to the top of the spider's head, once the shower water was shut off Alastor wasted no time in stepping out and snapping his fingers, two fluffy towels appearing just beside them.

Angel stretched his arms out before he attempted to get as much water out of his hair and fur before stepping out of the shower as well, just to minimize the amount of water that would drip off of him.

"Does it physically hurt you too? Or is it just me? Feels like the energy is literally sucked outta me every time."  
It was probably that their bond was still really new and fresh, but even still, it was draining and made things difficult. He could have had eight cups of coffee and taken a whole cocktail of uppers and it still wouldn't help his situation.

Wrapping one of the towels around himself, Angel opened the medicine cabinet in the mirror and grabbed a bottle of anti-inflammatories, taking a few and put the bottle back.

After grabbing one of the towels, Alastor worked on drying himself off, wrapping the towel around this waist before summoning another towel to dry his hair and ears out.   
"Feeling drained is one of the side effects of being away from the person you are bound over long periods of time. So yes, I do occasionally feel that way."   
He sighed.  
"I am unaware as to whether that feeling fades after time, so I suppose we shall find out eventually."   
Snapping his fingers once again, a fresh suit suddenly appeared upon the Radio Demon's frame, both towels disappearing as he strode over to the mirror, fixing his hair in the reflection.

Angel followed close behind, bringing the towel up over his chest so that his next action wouldn't get Alastor's suit wet.  
Leaning against the deer's back, all four of Angel's hands held the Radio Demon's waist and hips as he lowered his chin to rest on his shoulder, mismatched eyes watching his lover's every movement through the reflection in the mirror.

"What was runnin' through your mind when we first met?"  
He asked, eyes filled with admiration slowly blinking.   
This was something that had recently come to mind and didn't seem to stop nagging him.   
Angel found himself genuinely curious about how Alastor had even come to take such a strong liking to someone like him.

Alastor stood still to watch what Angel was doing as he stood close, the deer placing both of his hands to Angel's hips above the towel.

"What was running through my mind?"   
He repeated, looking up at the ceiling in thought.  
"To be totally honest with you, it wasn't all good. For one, I wished you would just leave me be, presuming that you were offering your services in exchange for money. You didn't capture my attention fully until the mention of a potential deal was brought up."   
He laughed.

Angel gave a bit of a nod.  
"Well, ya weren't wrong. Dick bag was in a shit mood at the time so I thought that if I got him some decent cash, he'd be a little easier on me."  
The spider paused, eyes moving down a bit.  
"Now that I think about it, it mighta made shit worse. I wasn't allowed to even look at someone without permission so that was pretty risky on my part either way."

Nodding, Alastor snapped his fingers again, one of Angel's outfits from his closet appearing on the spider's frame, replacing the towel.   
"Well, Valentino is over now, thankfully."

Angel looked down at his now clothed figure with a raised brow, not realizing Alastor's little tricks could be used on others; though he should have expected it to be possible. Grabbing one of the towels again, he draped it over his head and started drying his hair.  
"When didja really start feelin' though? I think I might be able to guess."

It was at Angel's second question to him that Alastor grinned, not really having to think about that one at all.   
"Oh? And what guess do you have for that? Am I really that easy to read?"   
He chuckled.

"You're the _hardest_ thing to read, actually. I have no idea. I was just bluffing."  
He laughed a bit with a shrug, grabbing his hairdryer from the small cabinet under the sink and plugged it in.  
"Coulda been just after I left but I ain't too sure."  
Turning the device on, Angel opened his shirt and started drying his chest fluff.

"Apologies if it is not what you wanted to wear."   
Alastor chuckled, taking a step to the side to lean against the wall, arms folded across his chest as Angel began to dry specifically his thick chest fluff.

The spider simply waved his hand dismissively, appreciating the gesture in general. He liked all of his outfits so whatever Alastor wanted to put him in was fine.

"If my memory serves me correctly, I do believe it was the first time we journeyed to Earth. However, there was a whole mountain of denial that came with that. The first time you left, I think, is when it really hit me and sunk in, yes."   
Alastor remembered well what that felt like, realizing that Angel had left after their deal had been completed. He remembered the confusion, the simmering anger and of course the even more confusing pain in his chest. But that was all gone now.

Angel looked to his lover as he moved away and spoke, a small smile finding a home on his face.  
It was sweet hearing these truths; and Angel could tell it was all true. He was loving the benefits of this eternal bond.

"It was our first kiss, wasn't it."  
Angel smirked.  
"Or was that just the icing on the cake?"

Looking away with a small kind of sheepish smile, Alastor slowly nodded.   
"It surprised me, but the dancing and the way you made me feel as well as what you told me about your life- paired with our first kiss, I think all of those things had something to do with it all."   
He nodded, absolutely sure of that.  
"I wouldn't have given my mother's necklace to just anyone, and by that time, despite the denial, I knew I could trust you."

The spider could feel his heart melting at all of this. This was all something he wished he could've heard sooner, but he never thought to talk about it until recently.

Shutting the dryer off and set it down, Angel stepped closer to Alastor, wrapping his arms around him.  
"You have no idea how much that means to me..."  
And it was true. This information really did mean a lot to him. It helped him put things into perspective and helped him realize how deep Alastor's love and trust ran. He could tell there were no ulterior motives behind any of this, not like it would be logical on Alastor's part to take things this far just for his own personal gain.

Alastor could only smile with fondness, nodding his head in understanding. He knew that all of this meant a lot to the spider, and truth be told, it meant a lot to him as well. Every bit of it.

Pulling away after a moment or two, the spider started working on drying and brushing his hair.  
"For me it was the same I think. I know I started feelin' something when we first went to the jazz club and had our first dance there. 'Course I pushed all that away knowin' how dangerous it was."

"Oh yes, it could have been quite dangerous for you had I not reciprocated such feelings."   
Alastor chuckled, pushing some of his own hair out of his face as it began to properly dry in the air.   
"I do think we should return to that jazz club eventually. The atmosphere was quite nice."

With a nod, Angel shut the dryer off again and put it away before continuing with brushing himself out.

"Next time we both have free time I say we head over."  
The arachnid replied despite knowing their schedules wouldn't match up for quite some time and allow them to enjoy that time.

"Returning there would be quite the night I should imagine. We'll have to see when our schedules next match up then."

Closing his shirt again, Angel finished and set the brush down before fixing himself a bit, turning to Alastor again.  
"You said you'd make breakfast, so I'll clean up the bedroom a bit."

After fixing his hair, Alastor adjusted his bow tie a little in the mirror before turning on his heels to face Angel once again.   
"I'll go make us something then- oh and you don't have to bother with changing the sheets on the bed-"   
Pausing, Alastor snapped his fingers with a small smirk.   
"It's done, haha!"  
And with that, Alastor waved the bathroom door open, stepping out and moving toward the stairs.   
"I'll call you when it's ready if you're not down by then."

Angel's brows raised slightly and followed Alastor out of the bathroom.  
"You're somethin' else, y'know that?"  
He chuckled and shook his head, walking past his lover and towards their bedroom.

With Angel upstairs, Alastor slowly began to make his way down, humming a static-filled tune as he rounded the bottom of the staircase, waltzed into the kitchen and over to the stove.  
Already having in mind what he was going to make, Alastor waved a hand over the stove, it igniting, and snapped his fingers once, an array of ingredients spreading out across a few of the counters.

Today seemed like a good day to start moving all of his things into their room seeing as they were officially sharing it now. Plus there was no sign that a replacement bed was going to be put in so there wasn't much use for the spider's belongings to stay in there now either aside from work things.

"I'll be down in a few."  
He stated before entering the room, seeing that everything was, in fact, already cleaned up.   
"Never mind then."  
He sighed and decided to make his way down now.

Angel walked into the dining room and sat at the table, having grabbed his phone, he decided now was going to be a good time to tell Molly about the rings. Or... maybe _show_ her.  
Holding his hand out, Angel took a picture of the ring and sent it off to his sister without context. This would be fun.

It was early for Molly too, however, she was awake already, having just fed Fat Nuggets his breakfast. Munching away on some cereal as she lay on a couch in the lounge of Stewart's apartment, it was then that her phone in one of her other hands dinged- a message from her brother, something she was always happy to see.   
Sitting up, Molly placed the bowl of breakfast to the side before pulling up the text message. A singular image with no text.

Eyes narrowing, Molly physically leaned in closer towards the screen to confirm what she was seeing and even zoomed in on the image.   
"What?!"   
She gasped, placing another hand to her mouth to hold back a scream.   
"Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck-"

_Is that what I think it is!!!!!_

She quickly messaged back, holding her breath.

Angel smirked, deciding to be vague with his response.

_I'll let u decide._   
_We should hang out sometime!_   
_Still have 2 meet that man of urs ;)_

Angel's attention moved over to Alastor, watching him work away. A second thought came to mind, sending it to Molly.

_Or u can come 2 the studio and hang out._   
_That's where I am these days._

The moment that her brother's next two responses came in one after another, Molly sighed out in annoyance, rolling her eyes.

"I'm just gunna call his ass."   
She spoke more to herself than anyone, however, received a snort in reply from Fat Nuggets who had made its way over to sit beside her on the floor, too short to get up onto the couch. Reaching down, Molly scooped the pig up and set it down in her lap.

Pressing the video call button on her phone, she waited a couple of seconds before it was finally answered.

Angel put on a coy and innocent smile, answering the call as if nothing was out of the ordinary.  
"Heya, Disco Biscuit. How ya doin'?"  
He chuckled at his own reference, using his lower set of hands to hold the phone up while his upper set of elbows rested on the table, his chin held in his palms; the ring clear to see in the frame.

"You better tell me right now whether that ring is what I think it is!!!"   
She exclaimed, Fat Nuggets once again snorting in response.

"I think you know, Hug Drug."  
He purred with a mischievous grin and a wink.  
Angel loved using those nicknames when he was teasing Molly, seeing as they were the street names of ecstasy, molly being one of them.

Molly narrowed her eyes, knowing that her brother was doing this on purpose.   
"That, right there- and don't Hug Drug me."   
Tapping her screen where Angel's ring was showing up, she brought the phone closer to try and get a better look.   
"Oh c'mon Tony, pleaaasse tell me. I can't see it properly from here. Did Al get it for you? Well, I'm guessin' it was him and all."

Angel raised his brows in faux surprise, playing it off as if he didn't notice he was wearing the piece of jewelry.  
Bringing his hands out in front of him to see what she was talking about he smiled wider.

"Oh, this? Yeah, Ed-... Al's got one too. Wanna see it?"  
The spider's eyes looked over to his lover; who was still working away in the next room.

And the fact that Alastor had one too? It made Molly just that much happier, her suspicions slowly becoming true.

Standing, the spider made his way over to Alastor and wrapped his lower set of arms around the deer's waist. He held the phone out in front of them with his upper right hand while the upper left held his lover's shoulder.  
"Say hi, babe~"

Alastor was stood just beside the stove, plating up a couple of pancakes that he'd made for the two of them. Turning over his shoulder as Angel came up behind him, Alastor raised a brow, waving slightly at Molly through Angel's device with the hand his ring was on.   
"Ah, hello Molly!"

Molly was focused on the ring on Alastor's hand more than anything as he waved to her.

Angel smiled out of pure joy and held Alastor's hand still, turning it so the ring could be seen properly, both of which now in the frame.  
"Whatcha think?"  
He aimed the question at Molly, kissing Alastor's cheek.  
He simply couldn't contain himself. He was overflowing with affection and admiration for his eternal partner and couldn't stop himself from showing it.

"What kinda rings are they? They look beautiful. When did ya get 'em? Please don't tell me ya got like married or somethin' in secret."   
She had so many questions and was elated for the couple, of course.   
Fat Nuggets seemed quite happy as well, wiggling around and snorting at the screen, although it was probably because it hadn't seen its owner in a while.

"Oh it's so good to see you so happy Tony!"   
She beamed, clearly able to see how overjoyed her brother was with all of this.   
Even through all of the bad that had happened, he was still smiling and it seemed that Alastor had done well in making it up to her brother.

"If ya come by the studio while Al's around I'm sure we could explain it all to ya together. We're about to sit for a bite."  
Angel explained, letting Alastor free from his grasp and made his way back to the table.

"Hi Nug Bug!~"  
He chimed as he finally took note of Fat Nuggets, happy to see the pig was still very much alive and healthy.   
"God, Molls, there's so much I gotta tell ya about and not enough time right now. Next time we meet up we'll go through every detail on both our ends."

Nodding, Molly moved the phone a little further away so that Fat Nuggets could be properly be seen.  
"We'll definitely have to meet so that Stew can see you all and I wanna see your rings!"  
It was difficult when everyone was so busy all the time, but they'd get around to it, she knew they would.  
"Anyways, I'll leave you two to it. Stew's still sleepin' so I was gunna go and wake him up. I'll text ya later Tony!"

"You bet Hug Drug! See ya Chunker!"  
Angel waved then ended the call, setting the phone down on the table with a sigh.

"Glad she took it well even with the shit detail I gave her."  
He looked to Alastor, bringing his upper set of hands up to run his fingers through his hair.   
"Huge relief, actually."

By this point, Alastor had finished making the breakfast and was bringing the plates over.  
"Hm yes, I had no doubt in my mind that she would take it well."   
He nodded, placing Angel's plate of pancakes down before setting his own down and taking a seat opposite the other.   
"She seemed quite happy actually."

"Well I didn't really tell her much. I didn't know how much I was allowed to say, kinda why I said we'd both explain later."  
He shrugged, looking down at the plate the was set down in front of him with a soft smile.  
"Looks great, Ed, thank you."  
The spider picked up the fork and dove right in, taking the first bite with a satisfied hum, his eyes closing.  
Perfect, as always.

"You can tell as much as you'd like."   
Alastor shrugged, picking up his cutlery and cutting into the pancakes, taking a bite as well.   
"There's nothing to hide when it comes to that imp. Besides, I can't see many demons looking for the imp either, considering how far away he is from everything."

Taking a few more bites of the pancakes, Alastor's gaze slowly moved over to the pantry cupboard in the kitchen.   
"I have some work to do in the basement after this."   
He began.

Angel's eyes opened, looking to where Alastor was looking for a moment.  
He had questions about the old coot they visited, but it seemed like those could wait as his attention turned to the mention of the basement.

"Still hate that you're hidin' shit from me down there."  
He stated with a bit of a huff before stuffing some more of the fluffy clouds into his mouth.

Angel had mixed feelings about it, actually.   
He wasn't sure if Alastor was trying to protect either himself or Angel from something, maybe both of them? Or maybe Alastor didn't trust him enough just yet despite the words they exchanged upstairs in the bathroom not long ago.  
"You have fun though. I'll be movin' my stuff into our room today."

Alastor looked back over to Angel with a raised brow, sensing his uncertainty in regards to the basement and most likely what the deer was doing down there. The Radio Demon supposed there was no real reason now as to why Angel couldn't know what was down there.

"You can accompany me if you wish."   
He shrugged, taking another bite of the pancakes.   
"There are perhaps books down there that an overlord may find useful. No use having them down there if no one is going to read them, hm?"

Angel was about to take another bite but stopped, a smile creeping up to his lips again.  
"If you wanna show me, I'd be more than happy to come along."  
He tried to keep the happiness and excitement to a minimum.  
He had been waiting to see what lurked under the main floor's hardwood flooring for quite some time and couldn't wait to see what Alastor was hiding and keeping safe.

Alastor simply nodded, noticing the small smile that was upon his lover's lips. The arachnid may have been trying to not show it, but Alastor could sense the sort of excitement coming from the spider at the prospect of seeing the basement.

"It's nothing fancy, my dear."   
He added, finishing up the last of his pancakes.

With a shrug, Angel made sure to quickly finish his meal so they'd be able to move on a little quicker.  
"Maybe, maybe not. But it's a place you spend a lotta time in and keep well hidden, so I ain't got a clue what it's like."  
Angel explained his thinking, tilting his head a bit as he and Alastor made eye contact.

"Yes, I have quite a few personal belongings kept down there and it is where I work, one of the few reasons why I spend so much time there."   
Alastor explained, slowly standing from the table and collecting up the both of their plates once Angel had finished as well.  
"And of course I occasionally play the piano down there, as you know too."

Angel stood as well, pushing his chair in a bit.  
"Hopefully we'll be able to work on that again soon. I really like playin'."  
He hummed, both sets of hands resting behind his back as he awaited Alastor's guidance to the basement.

Snapping his fingers, the dishes from their breakfast got to washing themselves in the sink.

"Yes, I'm sure we will be able to find some time."   
He nodded, making his way over to the small door in the sidewall of the kitchen that was the pantry. Opening it up, Alastor waved his hand over a large shelf that took up the entire back wall, it moving forwards to reveal a door.

"Oh, how dusty."   
Alastor tutted, brushing his hands off before pulling the door open.   
"I do tend to find teleporting down a much more convenient method. As you can see, I don't frequently use this door."

Angel stood back and watched with curiosity. The number of times he went into that small space to grab something and he never noticed the door.   
Shaking his head in disappointment directed at himself, watched as it was opened; specks of dust floating up into the air.

"This makes me wonder what other secrets this place has-"  
The spider admitted aloud.

Alastor simply smirked, shrugging as he started down the wooden staircase that led to the secret basement.   
"Why, you don't have to worry about anything else my dear."  
Finally, upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, Alastor snapped the lights on, the entire bottom floor dimly lighting up.

Angel was quick to follow. If it were anyone else or if he and Alastor had just met, he'd think he was being led to his death. There was nothing sketchier than being brought down into a dark basement that was well hidden.

As they reached the bottom and the lights lit up the space, Angel looked around. Shelves upon shelves of books that looked like they hadn't been touched in forever, the piano in the corner, an armchair in another corner with a lamp... Angel didn't know what he was expecting, but this kind of made sense to him.

"Not bad for a basement."  
He stated, moving around a bit as he inspected the contents of the bookshelves a little closer for a moment before looking over at a desk that had a corkboard hanging on the wall it was up against.

Humming lightly to himself, Alastor quietly followed behind Angel, seeing where his gaze landed upon the corkboard with the newspapers and pictures- something very precious to Alastor.  
"Ah yes."   
He smiled. The old newspaper clippings dated back to 1928 all the way to 1933, many of which were titled 'serial killer?', or something similar- all had a relation to death; and the pictures? Some were of Alastor himself, and others were small black and white squares of people.

Angel knew parts of Alastor's past, but he didn't know his killings were this extensive. It didn't bother the spider at all, not in the least. It simply surprised him a bit.

Watching as Angel observed everything that was around him, Alastor could only smile. He could feel that Angel wasn't scared in any way- he knew he wouldn't be. The spider liked the deer for who he was.

The arachnid's eyes trailed down to the desk, one of the few items on it looked to be an old photo album.   
Carefully pulling the book closer from the far side, Angel examined the outside over a bit before looking back at Alastor.  
"Can I take a look?"

"Oh yes, by all means."   
He nodded, taking a few steps back towards one of the bookshelves, searching through while Angel looked through the album of pictures.

Carefully lifting the book, Angel moved over to the armchair in the corner and took a seat before opening the rough cover to the first page.   
He was sure to take in every photo that was inside, doing his best to read the emotions and what little context was given in each one.

The album seemed to be well organized, photo's of a rather striking woman and a child that could only be assumed to be Alastor himself.   
The woman in question was most likely his mother, seeing that she was wearing the necklace Alastor had given Angel all that time ago.  
He felt his smile return, seeing his lover during his early years of life brought Angel quite a bit of joy. The deeper he went into the book, the older Alastor seemed to get.

"You weren't lying. You actually did have a little ponytail!"  
Angel laughed a bit, finding himself in the part of Alastor's early teen years.

After taking out a book he needed, Alastor made his way over to Angel, leaning against the armchair and looking down at the photo album in the spider's hands.   
"See, I wouldn't lie to you my dear. I insisted that my hair grow at that time to which my mother was quite displeased at."   
He chuckled, remembering that well.   
"She told me it looked messy and untidy; and now looking back, I suppose I can see what she meant."

That photo album had been created a near forty years ago after Alastor kept on finding many pictures from his life and decided to store them all in one tidy book.

One of Angel's hands found its way around Alastor, leaning into him with a small laugh.  
"I'm still putting your hair up later."  
He stated as he turned the page, pictures of Alastor holding his father's rifle and others of both him and the animals he'd hunted being the next few pages, a proud smile on his face for each one.

Shaking his head with a smirk, Alastor just sighed, knowing that getting the idea of Angel doing his hair out of his head was going to be near impossible.

"You were really handsome, y'know that? Hell. Ya still are and always will be."  
Angel grinned as he continued turning the pages. Photos of the radio station the deer worked at and a few of him and the woman he spoke of all that time ago to follow.

"Oh yes my dear, I am well aware of my charm and blessed looks, and you should be just as thankful. From what I've seen of you as a human, you're really something else, Anthony."   
And that was meant in every good way possible. There wasn't a bad thing Alastor could think of to describe Angel.

Angel gave a small laugh, nudging Alastor lightly with his elbow.  
"Oh, shut up."  
He teased with a chuckle.  
He really did appreciate the genuine compliment though.

"You're getting quite near to the end now."   
Alastor acknowledged as Angel flicked through some more.   
"I always wanted to add some more recent pictures perhaps with you in them, however I never got the time."

Upon flipping the last page to the very end, a loose photo was left at the very back.   
Carefully picking it up, Angel took a closer look.   
Alastor, an unidentifiable woman and an infant.

Chuckling as well, Alastor rolled his eyes at the elbow nudge before that laughter slowly died down to a stop at seeing the picture that was suddenly turned to in the very back of the book.

Tilting his head slightly, Angel blinked.  
"I didn't know you had a family..."  
His attention focused in on the woman to see if he could identify her, but with no luck.

"No, Anthony dear. While it is my family, that infant is most definitely me. And that man-"   
Pausing to lean down, the deer tapped his nail over a man in the photo that scarily mirrored Alastor's looks during his life.   
He could see how Angel got confused.   
"That man was my father. This is about the only photo evidence I have of him ever existing. Memories aside, of course."

Angel brought the photograph closer to his face to inspect it further. It slowly became clear why his mother looked so different. Her hair was down. In all of the other photos, her hair was up.

Taking Alastor's hand in one of his own, Angel let out a small breath.   
The Radio Demon's father seemed to be a mystery to both of them. The spider recalled Alastor saying he didn't know what happened to him, up and disappearing one day; and when he said he didn't know what happened to him, that was also true.   
Then again, he was very young when the man had disappeared.

"I can see why you were confused. There is a likeness."   
Alastor slowly nodded, gently squeezing the hand that Angel had taken in his own.

"Amazing..."  
Was all Angel was able to say with his voice just above a whisper.

"Amazing? I suppose..."   
He sighed, placing the photo back in the book and closing it.   
"However there's no use dwelling on memories of the past, hm?"   
Straightening himself up, Alastor gently let go of Angel's hand.

Angel blinked a few times as the photo and book were taken back, looking to Alastor.   
Standing, he followed and wrapped his arms around his lover's waist from behind.

"I'll tell Molly to bring her stuff over so you can see whatever was documented of my life too. Seems only fair."  
He stated softly, kissing Alastor's cheek from where he stood.  
He wanted to see it all again anyway. He hadn't seen any of it since he was alive, so seeing his own mother's photos again would be nice.

Alastor stopped a moment, placing a hand on top of Angel's as they rested around his waist.  
"That would be really nice Anthony. I'm sure Molly would be more than happy as well."   
He smiled, looking back over his shoulder and leaning to place a kiss to Angel's forehead.  
Slowly unwrapping himself out of Angel's grasp, Alastor moved back over to the bookshelf, pushing the photo album back into its place.

With a smile, Angel let go and moved back over to the desk to look over the newspaper clippings.  
"I didn't know your count was so high."  
He hummed, completely unbothered by it all.  
Angel had a fair few bodies on his own counter from when he was alive too, so he had no room to judge anything. Of course, his count was mainly during his jobs his father would get him involved in, but even after he fled, there were still a couple of unfortunate incidents where he had to take some lives.  
None of that mattered now though. All of that was in the past; and as Alastor said. There was no use in dwelling on memories.

Once the photo album had been placed back, Alastor moved back over to where Angel was, nodding at the newspaper clippings that tilted the disappearances and deaths of many of his victims- all the dates very much spread out.

"Oh yes. And these were only _some_ of the disappearances and deaths that were taken note of. For perhaps less... affluent individuals that fell victim, they were not so widely 'cared about' by the public if you will."   
There was a slight smirk behind his words as he spoke, knowing just how many people that the public never knew about. The majority of their bodies would never have been found either.

"I know all about that sorta stuff."  
The spider replied with a shrug. He knew damn well some of those less cared about victims were prostitutes or homeless. He almost fell victim to the same fate quite a few times himself.

Angel knew for a fact that when he died, he was buried in a potter's field somewhere. Neither his brother or father would have claimed his body. This was confirmed to be true when they visited New York, otherwise, he would have been kept with the family.   
Of course he'd come to terms with this a long time ago and accepted it. He wouldn't have expected anything else.

Alastor knew some of what Angel's life had been like before he died, so yes, he supposed he did know all about that.  
"I wish it could have been different for you."   
Alastor slowly spoke, placing a comforting hand to his lover's shoulder.  
Thanks to the unfortunate nature of Alastor's death, he knew that his body was never recovered either. Thus why it was not in the graveyard beside his mother's.

Angel put a hand over Alastor's and gave a genuine smile with a shake of his head, slightly turning towards him.  
"I wouldn't change anything that happened. If I did, everything would be different and I don't want that. I'm happy with how things are now."

Angel wasn't upset about anything that happened. Naturally some of the memories and such still hurt, but that didn't matter. He was here in this moment with Alastor because everything happened as it did; and that in itself made up for all of the pain.

Alastor could only nod, glad that Angel had no existing hard feelings towards the end of his life.  
"Well, I'm very glad that things turned out the way that they did then."   
Alastor smiled, turning the spider to face each other fully.   
"I'm glad that I met you and that we managed to do all of this together, my dear. And I'm very glad that we are what we are."

"Me too."  
Angel replied softly, looking into his lover's eyes as he wrapped his upper set of arms around Alastor's neck and lower set of hand rest against his chest.

"Sei la mia pace e felicità."  
He smiled, pecking his lover's lips.  
"Tell me more about your mom?"  
He then asked, lowering his head to rest on Alastor's shoulder.

Chuckling to himself, Alastor leaned forwards to press a sweet kiss upon Angel's forehead again.  
"What would you like to know?"   
He asked, letting his hand rest upon Angel's waist as per usual.  
He was happy to talk about his mother to Angel, and the fact he showed interest in her didn't fail to keep Alastor's smile wide upon his face.

"Anything and everything."  
Angel smiled. He really did take a genuine interest in his mother. She seemed to be the perfect example of what a mother should be, and not having one himself made him all the more curious about what it would have been like.  
Bringing Alastor back over to the armchair, the spider had him sit before sitting himself in his lap.   
"What's your favorite memory of her? What's the one thing you remember her teachin' ya that ya can't forget? Was she gifted with musical talent too?"

"Hmm, well then let me think."   
Alastor hummed to himself with a smile, wrapping his arms around Angel's waist.   
"I had many wonderful memories with my mother, she was the one person in my life that I was close to so it's rather difficult for me to single out one memory to call my favorite."   
The deer explained.

"However, your other questions I'm sure I can answer. During my younger years, when she had the time to spare, she often taught me the violin; and oh could she play! It was always such entertainment spending an evening simply listening to her playing and then spending months afterward trying to copy the notes just as she had."   
Alastor laughed fondly, static completely void in his voice as he spoke.   
"She didn't play often at all, so it was quite nice to watch her when she did."

In terms of what his mother taught him? Well, there were many things. However there was also one thing in particular that he remember his mother always saying.   
"She taught me to always stay smiling. No matter what."

Angel stayed quiet, listening to Alastor's little stories. Bringing his upper set of hands up to the deer's cheeks, he couldn't help but tilt his head.  
"So she's the reason for your fabulous signature smile."  
He concluded.

"Ahah, yes! Smile and all!"   
He laughed, his smile only widening. 

"She sounds like the life of the party, if y'ask me."  
Letting his hands fall back down to rest behind his lover's neck, the spider gave a small hum.  
"Ya said she was a nurse, right? Did that make things harder for you?"

"Although, she worked during the day with her job as a nurse, yes, so wasn't around often during those times."  
Pausing a moment, Alastor let his hands fall from around Angel, setting them on either side of the chair's arms.   
"Did it make things harder for me growing up?"   
He repeated.   
"It did and it didn't. I've always been quite independent, and boredom was never an issue for me. However with only my mother as somebody I felt I could truly talk to, it made it difficult in some aspects during her long hours away."

"I can see that bein' an issue for a kid, yeah."  
The spider replied with a nod and a shrug.   
"And you were an only child too so that probably wasn't much help either."  
Angel then stifled a laugh too.  
"I woulda gave ya my brother. You coulda taught him to be a decent asshole rather than a piece of shit asshole. The two of ya coulda gone hunting together."  
After a small pause, he shook his head.  
"Never mind. Bad idea. You'd kill each other."

"I remember when a neighbor once asked me if I was ever bored being on my own and wanted a sibling. I explained to her that not only was my mother much too busy to look after another child, but my father had gone and that the mere idea of having another infant under the roof of our house was quite repulsive to me. Needless to say, the woman asking was quite shocked by my response."   
Alastor laughed at that memory in particular, knowing what eventually became of that neighbor. 

Laughter dying down to a chuckle, Alastor nodded at Angel's words in relation to his brother.   
"I haven't met him properly, but what I saw of him when I dropped you off at Molly's, he looked as if he needed a bit of cheering up, haha! I've never seen someone more in need of a smile!"

Angel laughed a bit.  
"Frank? Smiling? Never in a million years."  
He replied with a shake of his head.   
"I've seen him smile maybe _once_ in my entire life, and even then it was in a picture. Never firsthand."  
He added. Of course that was before he and Molly came along, so it was clear that his mother held everyone together.  
"The day Frank smiles is the day he goes fuckin' insane and kills everyone."  
The spider continued.   
"Point is, it ain't gunna happen."

"Haha, why, that would be quite the entertaining sight! A man killing out of insanity due to smiling? That will be the day my dear, that will be the day."   
Alastor figured that meeting Angel's father and brother one day, if he ever got the chance, would be quite interesting, however from what he knew of them, they weren't exactly the biggest fans of Angel.  
"Well, it's a good thing that both you and Molly have plenty of smiles to go around then, haha!"

Angel gave a bit of a laugh, nodding. If only Alastor knew...  
"Guess we have enough smiles to make up for their frowns."  
The spider leaned forward and rested his forehead against Alastor's, eyes closing.  
"Thank you..."  
He sighed quietly, nothing more said on his part. He meant that for everything. Everything he was thankful for towards his lover.

Alastor once again moved his hands around to Angel's waist, holding him close as he pressed his forehead to the spiders too, his own eyes closing for a brief moment.   
"Always, Anthony."   
He whispered.   
"Always..."

And for once, down in Hell, everything for the two of them was good; and their bond, held together by trust, communication, pieces of their souls and, most importantly, love, would stay strong just as they knew it would.   
For a while did things simmer down in their busy lives, the two demons managing to find a healthy balance between both work and each other, as well as the important people of Angel's life.   
And truly, everything was good. 


	19. Where Were We?

Days from there turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. Not many, only one year, eleven months and six days to be exact.

Angel continued to work hard on getting the company reorganized, and thanks to Alastor and Molly's help, it took much less time then it would have taken for him to do alone.   
The way things were running now, everything was better than it had ever been. Income had doubled, employees were happy and compliant, and all was well.

Angel was able to take time off as he wished meaning he was able to see Molly, Stewart, and Fat Nuggets as often as twice a week. He ran into his father and brother once or twice, but nothing notable came of it.   
Of course some nights he would have to work late, but he always came home to Alastor at the end of the day; very rarely would he have to spend the night at the studios.

The bond between Angel and Alastor had evened itself out as their souls got used to each other, now in even and mellow sync with one another. The draining of energy subsided as time went on, which was definitely a welcome development too.   
Because Alastor had higher status than Angel, it seemed that Angel was the only one to really gain powers, seeing as there was nothing he could really offer his partner in that sense, not that it mattered to either of them anyways.

Alastor, after having read through the imps book fully and properly, understood that he wouldn't gain any attributes of Angel's, and that was more than fine with him. The bond between them was more than enough in his eyes, and once it settled down over the months and then years that passed, Alastor too felt more peace of mind being away from his lover for hours at a time, even a day if things at the studios were really busy for the arachnid.

Despite the Radio Demon perhaps having 'gone soft', as Husk had put it at one point in relation to Angel, that didn't mean that Alastor didn't rule over Hell softly at all. He kept his iron fist, eerie smile usual chipper attitude when working, simultaneously scaring any demon that crossed him half to double death while at it. And yes, all was well.

It was early down in Hell and early meant that Alastor was up already, of course. He was sat in his living room, enjoying the quiet morning that day brought, in contrast to the fairly eventful evening out the night before.   
Sipping at his coffee with the paper in his other hand, Alastor was happy to be reading up on an update about the porn studios and the recent success it had been having, which was a given.

Seeing that the business was doing so well had brought a wider smile to his face; and knowing that Angel was doing so well brought a sense of pride to the Radio Demon, even if he wasn't there to see it. With the way things had gone down two years prior, he was glad that things had progressed well and had long since been mended- at least for him they had. Angel was perhaps a different story...

Abruptly closing the newspaper after having read the main articles, Alastor placed his mug aside and momentarily stood, needing to check in with something. From the corner of the room, Alastor's gramophone was playing an upbeat twenties tune, the music echoing throughout the otherwise silent home, safe for the Radio Demon's footsteps as he began his ascent up the stairs.   
Once at the top hallway, the deer suddenly paused, his feet stopping his body from moving any further from where he stood. Outside of Angel's room. At least, what used to be.   
A small breath left Alastor's lips, his mind deciding to take a quick look inside.

It was void of any pink, and there was no bed anymore. The walls were bare, and the closet? No longer was it filled with all the luxurious clothes and other items that had belonged to its former resident.

"It's been a while..."   
The deer quietly whispered, slowly backing out of the room and pulling the door closed as he left.   
Indeed, it had been a while since that room had been in use. Two years. A timescale that, to a demon, was absolutely nothing in the face of a supposed eternity. But those near twenty-four months following Angel's leave had certainly been interesting. Alastor had learned a lot.

Angel stepped out of his and Alastor's now shared bedroom, closing the door behind him; wearing his new and improved overlord attire, all ready for work.   
A pink leather crop top with chains hanging off of the bottom of it and simple black leather shorts, short fishnet sleeves over his upper arms, long fishnet sleeves on his lower arms; and a black fedora featuring the feather from Valentino's old hat in the pink band sat on top of his head to top it all off. Sometimes he would switch it out for the heart-shaped glasses, or even feature both; but today was just the hat.

The spider immediately noticed his lover and eternal partner standing outside of the now vacant bedroom he used to reside in all that time ago.   
"Whatcha doin'? Somethin' wrong?"  
Angel questioned as he moved closer to Alastor, reaching for him a bit before placing a hand to the Radio Demon's mid-back.

Alastor glanced over his shoulder as Angel stepped out of their room, ready to head off to the studios it seemed.

"Oh, nothing, my dear."   
Alastor began, looking back towards the vacant room with a soft expression.   
"Just remembering when you used to stay in here. Why, it seems like an age ago now, haha!"

"Yeah, it really has."  
Angel replied with a small hum.

Closing the door and taking his hand off of the doorknob, Alastor's attention moving back to the spider.   
"But that aside, are you off? I haven't any work to do myself today, so perhaps I could accompany you this fine morning."

Angel smiled and gave a nod.  
"Mhm, you're always welcome to join me. A few more days and I'll have a couple off."  
He stated as he started moving towards the stairs.  
"Molly and her man wanna have a double date with us so Molls and I are gunna go shopping together if you wanna join us for that."

"Oh, perhaps. While shopping isn't necessarily my thing, I suppose just this once I shall come along with you and Molly whenever it is scheduled."   
Alastor nodded, following behind Angel as he started down the stairs.   
"If you and your sister haven't already chosen a venue for this 'double date', then I know just the place! I haven't been there in years, but I know the owner and she makes a wonderful singer!"

As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, Angel turned and looked up at Alastor trailing close behind with a smile.  
"That'd be great! We had a place in mind but I'm sure your place is probably better."  
He stated with a shrug.  
Walking into the lounge, the spider grabbed the coat Niffty fixed up for him all that time ago from the couch and put it on before heading for the door.

"'Cause you're joining me, do y'wanna be a part of my photoshoot this morning?"  
He asked, turning to Alastor as he opened the front door and stepped outside.

As Angel grabbed his coat, Alastor waited by the door, summoning his microphone and walking out after the other, the door closing itself behind the two of them.

"Haha, well that depends on the nature of the photoshoot. I do recall the last one you asked me to witness was... _something_."   
He chuckled, walking beside Angel as they made their way towards the center of the pentagram where the studios resided.

Angel gave a small snort of laughter, linking arms with Alastor's as they walked.  
"Clothes are gunna be one hundred percent on this time."  
The spider had to pause.  
"Okay... forty to forty-five percent. You'll stay fully clothed if that's whatcha want, but I gotta show a little more."

"Mhm, yes I would prefer it if I was fully clothed. Can't have the sinners of this place seeing their ruler with class and style being half-dressed, haha!"

Whether Angel was fully clothed or not, of course, that didn't bother Alastor too much, so long as the spider was comfortable; and the deer was more than happy to help out, so long as he was fully clothed the majority of the time and was in no sort of provocative positioning.

Angel chuckled lightly with a slight roll of his eyes.  
"That and you're _my_ delicious treat. Can't have anyone else thirstin' after _my_ tasty Bambi."  
The spider kissed Alastor's cheek with a grin and small skip in his step, getting a little more excited at the thought of doing a shoot with his forever number one.  
Of course he wanted Alastor to be comfortable, so whatever he wanted to happen would happen.

"Delicious treat."   
Alastor laughed, twirling his microphone around in the hand that wasn't linked with Angel's as they neared their destination.

"You know, I'm rather lucky that you're mine, Anthony. With all of the people thirsting after you, as you put it, if I were just a nobody I fear that I'd have no chance with you."   
He explained with a chuckle.

"Got that right babe. A nobody couldn't save a damsel in distress from the clutches of a piece of shit, now could they?"  
Angel batted back with a bit of added dramatic tone as if telling an epic fairytale.  
"Ya did a damn good job at that and this damsel's distress ain't been around for a long ass time."  
Pushing the glass doors of the studio open, Angel kept his eyes on Alastor.

"And I shall save said damsel as many times as I have to, haha."   
Following Angel through the glass doors to the lobby of the studio, Alastor looked around.   
Of course a lot of the decor had changed since Angel took over, having gotten rid of any hint of Valentino and replaced it all with his own details.

"I'm still tryna figure out how to repay ya for all that. Sure we got all this fancy stuff, but I still feel like it ain't enough."

"Like I've said many a time my dear, there's no need to repay me whatsoever. After all, it's been so long!"   
He exclaimed cheerfully, calling the lift for Angel once they got there.

"If I get the chance, I'm jumpin' head first and takin' it."   
The spider replied simply, pulling Alastor into the small room and hit a button, the door closing them in before taking them up.

"Y'know, I'm lucky to have you too. And to think all this started by some huge coincidence and just the right words. Thank god for my persistence too."  
Angel laughed a bit.

The doors opened to reveal an open floor, one that was obviously used for photoshoots and film scenes.   
Of course, Angel had janitorial staff to keep everything clean and in order. The arachnid himself made sure to go through everything with a black light to make sure everything was cleaned properly; and that was one of the many things that changed for the industry.

"Mhm yes, I do admire your persistence."   
Alastor grinned, eyes narrowing at the presence of the other overlord within the room as they entered.

A familiar screen-headed demon was helping set the cameras and monitors up, that is until he heard the ding of the elevator, causing him to turn with the signature teal-toothed grin.

"Angie, you're looking ravishing this fine morning."  
Vox complimented, making his way over, taking note that Alastor was accompanying him.  
"And good morrow, your majesty! I pleasure to see you again!"  
The TV added almost sarcastically with a rather dramatic bow.

"Don't be a dick."  
Angel tutted with a chuckle, nudging his business partner with his hip as he led Alastor further onto the floor.

"Yes, I wish the same could be said, Vox."   
Alastor smirked in reply, almost completely serious.   
While he could stand Vox significantly more than what he could Valentino, while that roach was alive, that didn't mean that the TV demon was any less of an annoyance when it came to conversation.

"Now Angel, what is the shoot on today, hm?"   
Alastor asked, looking around at all of the cameras.

"Just some magazine covers, but because you're here, I think it's time we make our official announcement. I'm still getting asked what our deal is so I think this'll be the perfect chance to shut 'em all up."

It was true, during the last two years, both Angel and Alastor hadn't really gotten around to making an official statement of their status with each other. Of course there were rumors of their involvement, but no one really knew aside from those they were close to.

"Unless you wanna keep everyone in the dark and keep playin' with 'em. The letters and shit are gettin' kind of annoying though."  
The spider shrugged, moving over to the set.

Alastor raised a brow at that.   
Certainly, their relationship hadn't ever been aired to the public down here in Hell and while yes, people who were close and who often saw Alastor and Angel together could make a guess, Alastor did feel as if an official announcement was in order. After all, their relationship had been official for a while now too.

The Radio Demon had no objections to this either and supposed the only person who should worry somewhat about it, was Angel. Considering the spider's fan base and how scarily possessive they could be of him without even knowing him. Alastor would never forget reading through some of Angel's fan mail that he'd gathered from the studios and brought back home one time.

"Why, I think that's an excellent idea! I just hope you consider that not everyone will like the fact that we are together, haha!"

Angel shook his head and scoffed, waving his hands dismissively.  
"Ah, I'm sure it'll be fine! If they don't like it and come after either of us, we'll have a fun little massacre to enjoy together."  
He grinned, pulling Alastor onto the set, consisting of a neatly prepared bed, seating for two, and a chaise lounge off to the side.

Alastor could only laugh in agreement at the mention of a massacre- something that they hadn't partaken in for a while together. 

"Ah, so the chatter is true! I've seen that ring but I couldn't be sure."  
Vox chimed in, adjusting a tripod.

"The 'chatter' is indeed true."   
Alastor replied to Vox, looking down at his ring with the part of Angel's soul in, still glowing softly as it always had when they were close to each other.

"So who's the dominant?"  
He asked with a raised brow on his screen.

Angel just rolled his eyes and shook his head.  
"If it ain't obvious, it ain't your business. Shut up and do your fuckin' job before ya go say hi to Valentino."

At the TV demons prying comment, Alastor simply rolled his eyes too, following his lover onto the set.  
"If you can't at least guess that, then perhaps you are a bigger imbecile then what I first presumed you to be."   
Alastor simply batted back, taking a seat down on one of the two chairs.

Vox simply raised his hands in defeat with a smirk, focusing his attention back to setting up the equipment.  
"I know what Angel's capable of, that's all I'm saying. He may be submissive but damn can he ever dominate at the flick of a switch."

Angel paid no more mind to Vox, giving his full and undivided attention to Alastor.  
"So, how do y'wanna present? I know you're gunna wanna keep your big scary image up, so I'll let you decide."  
He made sure to keep his voice soft.

Taking note of his words, the deer nodded a bit.   
"Well, hows about I sit here and you can move as you must around me, hm? If you would like me to sit in any certain way, then just say the word."

Alastor had done these shoots with Angel a fair few times before, however, he had of course been very much reluctant to do so in the beginning. Angel had somehow managed to drag him along into one, and now every time the spider needed the Radio Demon's face at a shoot, he was more than happy to help out.

The arachnid gave a nod and smiled as the Radio Demon took his seat.  
"Sure! If you wanna do anything, feel free to. We'll also have to write somethin' up for an article to go on the page."  
He had a few ideas already in terms of both poses and words for Hell to read.

Moving to stand behind Alastor, the spider leaned down a bit and let his upper set of arms hang over the deer's shoulders while his lower set of hands held his upper arms.   
He made sure to look at the monitor showing the image the camera was going to capture and adjusted as needed.

"Vox, lower the frame a bit? Get just under Al's nose so his unmistakable smile is seen. Keep the focus on the rings."  
Angel instructed as he guided Alastor's hands so their rings could be properly featured.

Alastor knew Angel had everything under control and didn't doubt any of his ideas when it came to his business, so simply nodded, knowing that his lover's ideas always grabbed the attention of Hells eager viewers of this sort of content.

Moving his hands as his lover guided them, Alastor turned his ring so that the soul stone was centred a little more, it's natural glow being picked up by the cameras as Angel positioned himself next.   
The Radio Demon didn't have to be told twice to smile, his ever-present ominous one always on his face, glinting in the stage lighting.

Angel made sure to remove his coat for a majority of the shots so it wouldn't clutter the frame too much. They took some suggestive shots, all staged of course, and all of the shots focused mainly on their rings. Angel also made sure that Alastor stayed as the dominant role, knowing he wouldn't want to ever be perceived as the weaker in the partnership, let alone in any situation.   
He still had a reputation and image to maintain and the spider respected that one hundred percent.

Alastor took part in all of the shots that Angel asked him to do, despite the suggestive nature of some of them. However, he was still comfortable during them and didn't feel the need to stop the shoot at any time. He greatly appreciated his lover's patience and respect towards his boundaries.  
The Radio Demon definitely found it endearing that Angel would always ask if something was okay with him when the positions were changed.

Miraculously Vox managed to keep his comments and such to himself, likely because he didn't want the duo to end him in a painful and gruesome way like his previous business partner. 

Angel and Alastor were feared on their own, but together, they were the ultimate power couple that shouldn't be crossed by any means.   
If one were to get hurt in any way, the other would take immediate action in revoking the assailants existence privileges.

When they had enough images to choose from, Angel fixed himself with a bit of a huff.   
"Just send the pictures to me and we'll choose the best ones. I'll send them in with the article to be added later tonight."  
He stated to Vox.  
"We've got one more stash of files to go through and then everything is completely reorganized and set!"

Soon enough, things were wrapping up, Alastor standing from the chair and brushing himself down before fixing his bow tie.   
"Why, that was quite successful!"   
He exclaimed with a grin, moving off of the set behind the cameras.

"We have some really good ones in there, I'd say. If you had anyone else taking the photos though I'd say it would be a disaster."  
Vox agreed, adding his natural narcissism in with it.

If Alastor could, then he'd most definitely be rolling his eyes constantly at the TV demon due to his incompetence and unnecessary ego.

"We still have that other one to do if just you, Angie. But that can wait until you two are finished. I'm sure Alastor wouldn't want to stick around for the hot stuff like the pure and untarnished man he is."  
The TV added.

Angel adjusted the lapels of Alastor's coat with a small laugh, brows raising.  
"Well, I'm glad my screams didn't make it this far into the city."  
He stated under his breath, only loud enough for Alastor to hear.

"They were clearly too high pitched to be heard by anyone."   
Alastor quietly yet smoothly added, reaching up to flatten a part of Angel's hair that was sticking up.

Angel had to hide his wide grin with a hand at Alastor's added comment, playfully hitting his shoulder.

"But yes, I shall make my way up to your dressing room Angel and accompany you home once we've finished."   
He continued on louder now so that Vox could hear.

The spider gave a nod once he'd contained himself again.   
"'Kay. I'll be up real soon."  
The arachnid replied, glancing at Vox as he started adjusting and replacing some of the devices and lenses of the camera.

Waving back at Angel as they parted ways, Alastor called the elevator, the doors opening before he stepped in and pressed the button for one of the very top floors.   
He'd been to Angel's dressing room many a time to wait for his lover to finish with work or to simply keep him company while working, so he knew where it was by now; and besides, Alastor was in no rush for anything, so it didn't bother him how long the other would take with the shoot.   
Getting off at the third to last floor, Alastor stepped out and moved across the small hallway, opening the door to Angel's dressing room and walking in.

With Alastor now out of sight, Angel gave a small huff and started gathering his necessary props and toys.

"Never in a million years did I think Alastor was capable of any sort of genuine positive emotion."  
Vox spoke up, keeping his focus on the camera setup.  
"What the hell did you do to him, Angie?"

Angel raised a brow and started undressing.  
"I was the prince of hearts, killed the king and took his place. I can snatch anyone I really want."  
He stated simply.

"Yes, but I assume you made him swoon even before you were king of the industry. How you managed that, I'll never know."

The spider couldn't help but give a small chuckle at that.   
"And I think I'm gunna keep ya in the dark. It's nothin' you'd be able to wrap your flat-faced head around. Or anyone down here for that matter."

Vox just gave a small hum in reply, not about to push for answers. He didn't really care either.

Angel made quick work of the shoot, not wanting to have to be exposed any longer than he needed to be.   
Since the bond between him and Alastor was made, he didn't necessarily enjoy doing these sorts of things anymore; but of course he still had fans to please and it wasn't like he did photoshoots and scenes very often.   
He would switch positions, outfits, backgrounds and so on to make it look like they were taken on different days so that when it was time for his new content to be released once a month, it would look like they weren't all taken on the same day.   
Angel was quite strategic in that sense.

When everything was finished, Angel cleaned himself up and redressed.

"I don't think you'll need to be in tomorrow. So, enjoy your next few days off. As always, I'll contact you with any emergencies."  
Vox stated.

"Thanks. I'll probably stop in and say goodbye before we head out. If not, I'll see ya in a few days. And make sure you send those shots to me!"  
Angel smiled, putting his coat and fedora on, moving over to the elevator now with a wave and made his way up to his dressing room.

Alastor had been sat on the long and pink chaise lounge in Angel's room, one leg crossed over the other, his attention focused directly on the small device in his hand. Well, when he said small, he meant small-ish. It seemed that phones had certainly got smaller over the years from what they used to be.

It had been around six months after Angel constantly asking him, that the Radio Demon was finally convinced to buy one of those phones. At first, he didn't use it at all, however with the addition of both Angel and Molly's numbers and their occasional 'texts' to him, and the prospect that Hell's news could be read on such a device, well, it soon got Alastor regularly using the thing.

Alastor was sat scrolling through some article on something that had popped up on the 666 news app, quickly reading as he scrolled when he heard footsteps from outside the dressing room.

Angel opened the door and stepped inside, shutting the door again behind him.   
"Anything fun happenin' out there?"  
He asked as he fixed his hair a bit, making his way over to a cabinet and started pulling stacks of papers out of the drawers and using all of his available arms to bring them over to where Alastor was perched.

Taking a seat next to him, the arachnid huffed, looking at all of the loose papers and folders. The job was almost finished.

Alastor just shook his head, looking up from the small screen.   
"Hmm, just the usual. Death, turf war, the occasional arson, the occasional overlord chatter. Nothing worth noting."   
Locking the phone, Alastor snapped his fingers, the device disappearing.   
"And how was your shoot? Everything went well I trust."

Angel nodded and straightened this top a bit, taking his coat off.  
"I think it went well, yeah."  
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and set it on the coffee table beside the papers, awaiting the email from Vox with their photos.

Scooting across the couch a little closer, Alastor looked over the paperwork.   
"Would you like some assistance with those perhaps? It will get finished much quicker no doubt."

"Help would be fantastic."  
Angel smiled and picked up the top folder, setting it in Alastor's lap before grabbing one for himself and flipped it open.

Alastor nodded, opening the folder that had been placed in his lap, flicking to the first page. He'd helped with Angel's paperwork before, so he knew what to do and how to file it by now.   
"Say, is there anywhere you'd like to go after this? The day is still young after all."   
He smiled, raising a brow as he looked across to his lover.

Angel kept his eyes down on the first piece of paper, eyes skimming over it for any important information.   
"I was just gunna go home and work on our statement to the press."  
His mismatched eyes moved to look at Alastor then.  
"Why? You got somethin' y'wanna do or somewhere y'wanna go?"

Quickly flicking through that folder, it seemed that most things in there were pretty much in order, prompting Alastor to close the folder, place it to the side and pick up the next one. If things carried on this way, then without a doubt in no time at all would they be finished.

"Not particularly, no."   
He hummed in response, opening the next folder. And upon reading through a few of the papers, they seemed to all be receipts for things- some of them far too crude for Alastor to even speak aloud, however it was when he came across a certain paper that he suddenly paused.   
It was a deal. Or at least, a very old one, given the date; but that wasn't what interested him. The name of the demon that the deal had been made with, was the most interesting part.   
Lucifer Magne.   
As Alastor read the nature of the deal made between Valentino and the former king Lucifer, his brows raised, eyes widening.

"Oh dear... well, that is quite something."   
Alastor sheepishly laugher, looking over his shoulder at Angel, slowly passing the paper.   
"Won't you look at that."

Angel looked at the paper almost immediately, hoping it was something he'd find useful.   
Taking it, the spider leaned back against the back of the furniture and started reading it over.

His eyes narrowed at first, brows coming together with the more he read. He wasn't sure how to feel about this. It was such a Valentino thing to do, and honestly it brought Angel Dust a lot of success. Plus he really shouldn't have been too surprised. The status is his ass was a hint to it all on this particular deal as it was.

"Of course he'd do somethin' like that..."  
Angel sighed, rubbing his face in exasperation.

Alastor wasn't really sure what to say here, taking the piece of paper and placing it in the designated files again.   
"And I'm presuming you do not wish for the deal to be ripped up and terminated?"   
He questioned, already knowing the answer to that one. As it was, yes, Angel's notoriously tight ass had brought him huge amounts of success over the years due to how it was; and who would have thought that Valentino would have made a deal with Lucifer to ensure that Angel Dust's body stayed that way- successful.

"It's quite the length to go if you ask me, however I suppose it did grant you half of your success."

"No, leave it."  
Angel sighed, tilting his head back as he rubbed his face a little more.   
"That fuckin' weasel..."  
Shaking his head, the spider sat up and brought his attention back to the documents he was going through.  
"I mean, I ain't complainin', my clients weren't complainin', and you sure as hell ain't complainin'; so what's it matter?"  
He shrugged, picking up another folder and opened it.

"Very true my dear, very true."   
Alastor nodded, placing that folder to the side now that it wasn't of any interest anymore and had been sorted.

"What the fuck was his obsession with keepin' folders of blank paper?! What was your fuckin' problem?!"  
Angel groaned, this being the eleventh folder filled with blank paper. Of course, they did everything necessary to make sure there wasn't any hidden information on the blank sheets, which there never were. Just blank white paper with no secrets.

"Yes, I have been noticing quite a few blank folders. Quite the waste of paper if I do say so myself. However, it does save us time, haha!"   
Alastor grinned, placing yet another blank paper filed folder to the side.   
"Remind me, when did you say you and Molly had planned to go out?"

Angel gave a small hum, this routine really irritating him. Two years of nothing but unorganized and messy paperwork became really tedious even after the first week, so after one hundred and four weeks it was safe to say that Angel was ready to murder.

"We don't have a set time or day, though we planned for tomorrow morning. Whenever I happened to be free and up for the trip."  
He replied, leaning against Alastor a bit as he picked up another folder.

Alastor knew how hard all of this had been on Angel. The mess Valentino had left was unfairly quite a bit for a new overlord such as Angel, having to take on all the work and sort everything out.

Placing the folder he had in his hands down on, Alastor affectionately wrapped an arm around Angel's shoulders, encouraging him to lean in.  
"Well my dear, I think you deserve a break so tomorrow morning will do just fine!"

With a nod, Angel confirmed the plan. His phone gave a ding, signaling the email he'd been waiting for from Vox.  
Not bothering to look at it yet, the spider took in all of the affection Alastor was giving, turning a bit to kiss his cheek.  
"We're almost finished. Let's get this done so we can go home."  
He sighed.

"Alright."   
With a nod, the Radio Demon slowly sat up again, reaching forwards for the folder he'd placed down.   
"Just a couple more and then for today, everything's done. You're free to relax for the next few days."   
Alastor smiled, trying to keep his lover's spirits high.

"Haha, why I know what will make this job fly by!"   
He suddenly exclaimed, summoning his microphone in his other hand, an upbeat thirties tune soon crackling through the static.

Angel's brows raised a bit, giving a smile at Alastor's successful attempts.   
He really appreciated all of it.  
"You're too perfect."  
The spider grinned with a small shake of his head, starting to go through the next folder.

He found himself humming along to the familiar tune, his smile only growing. Alastor really did know how to keep him happy. If he didn't have him, there was no doubt Angel would have gone insane by now.

Alastor too hummed along to the cheerful tune, glad that he was able to lift his lover's spirits even if just a little.  
Especially with the music, the two of them were able to near-complete all the paperwork around in something just a short of half an hour, the majority of the paper being useless blank pieces.

Just as Angel went through the last folder, his energy started to pick up again as excitement and elation took hold.   
Slamming the folder shut, Angel gave a wide smile, jumped to his feet, and threw it against the wall as hard as he could, papers flying everywhere.  
"Take that bitch! Two years and we're _fuckin' done! HA!_ "  
He cheered before flopping back down on the couch next to Alastor, leaning against him again.

Alastor laughed as the last of the papers were thrown to the wall, the sheets fluttering to the floor around them.  
"Well done Anthony! That's quite the achievement, oh yes indeedy!!"   
The deer looked around the room, snapping his fingers, the pieces of stray paper all compiling neatly into one stack once more.   
"Two years and never again hopefully."   
Leaning himself against Angel now, Alastor placed a soft kiss to the spider's cheek.   
"Congratulations, my love."

The arachnid wrapped an arm around Alastor, smile unwavering.   
"I couldn't have done it withoutcha, Eddie."  
He stated as he cupped the Radio Demon's cheek and placed a kiss to his lips.  
To be finally done gave a similar feeling to when Alastor broke the contract between Angel and Valentino in the past. A huge weight was lifted from his being and now he never had to look back. Valentino could be happily forgotten and everyone could move on with their lives.

Alastor happily returned the short kiss before pulling away, something of a smug smile on his lips.  
"Now, I would have usually said let's go out to get a drink and celebrate! However, I do understand if you're tired and busy with that magazine cover."   
He smirked, the music that had been playing in the background, quietly dying down.   
"So perhaps you'd rather we drink at home."  
Either way, Alastor was content and he could already see that a huge weight had been lifted from Angel's shoulders.

Angel gave a hum, trailing kisses along Alastor's jaw for a moment as he thought.  
"I'm alright with anything you wanna do. Goin' out would give us the chance to see some of the pathetic bitches out there, plus we ain't been out in a while, but goin' home would mean we could get a little... mmm- _nasty_ ~"  
The spider grinned, nipping the fabric covering Alastor's neck before finally pulling away.

Alastor let his eyes close at the light kisses, Angel's soft touch never failing in making him melt. Even the spider's words alone.   
"Well, I suppose that depends..."

In the two years that passed, of course the two of them had explored quite a bit together in terms of matters of the bedroom; and for one, that meant that Alastor wasn't so reserved anymore about that stuff, at least not when it came to his and Angel's conversations like this anyway.   
"It depends on what you're in the mood for, darling~"

This was a difficult choice to make. Angel really wanted to go out and see the little folk that resided outside on Hell's streets and perhaps cause a bit of chaos; but at the same time, he wanted to go home and relax, have a bit of fun with his lover and have a nice hot bath after.

Puffing his cheeks out, the arachnid pulled a coin out of his pocket and put it in Alastor's hand.  
"Heads, we go out. Tails, we go home."

The Radio Demon picked the coin up from the palm of his hand and nodded before tossing it up into the air and catching it, flipping it over on the back of his opposite hand and revealing the side that was showing.

"Tails it is."   
He chuckled with a slight smirk, handing the coin back and offering his arm out for Angel to take.  
"I have a new wine I'd like to try out, so it's just as well we are returning home."   
He added, leading Angel to the door of the dressing room.

Angel bit his lip and grinned.  
"Oh, how fancy~"  
He giggled and took the arm the was offered to him.  
"Gotta stop and say goodbye to the TV dipshit first and then we can skedaddle."  
Leading Alastor out of the dressing room, Angel left the work as it was. Now that it was finished and sorted, he could wait to properly file it away. All of that was in the basement anyways.  
The spider made sure to lock the door to his dressing room before making their way to the elevator.

Alastor followed as Angel led them out the dressing room and to the large elevator, stepping in and leaning against the back wall as Angel pressed the button for one of the floors.

"I bet you're glad that you took over this place, hm? I doubt Vox would have made half as much success of this place as what you've done already. Besides, he has his own turf to look after."   
Alastor spoke up as the elevator doors closed and began taking them down a few floors.

Angel joined the deer with a hum, nodding.  
"Oh, I couldn't be happier! Especially now that all that shit's been dealt with I can relax. Don't have to spend every waking minute here."  
He replied, watching the numbers as they made their way down.

Once the doors opened, Vox was getting things ready for another shoot that was scheduled, something Angel liked to see.   
"We're finished so we're goin' home for celebratory drinks and hot sex."  
Angel stated, knowing Vox wouldn't believe the last bit. No one would.

Alastor rolled his eyes at Angel's announcement of their plans to Vox, however couldn't help but grin at the TV demon's never-ending doubt that someone like the Radio Demon would indulge in such a thing.

"Oh, I'm sure you are! Enjoy yourself Angie, you worked extremely hard and need the break. You and I should go out when you get back!"  
Vox replied, turning his attention to the duo.

"We'll see. You gotta take care of your own shit too, don't forget. Make sure Blair doesn't overwork herself. She's still recovering."

"Of course. I'll take my time off when you get back. We've got enough content to keep things steady for a while."

"Oh, Vox!"   
Alastor quickly chimed in, having a sudden thought that he wanted to voice before they left.

The other overlord turned his attention to the Radio Demon with a seemingly piqued interest.

"What does a TV demon have to do to get drunk?"   
Alastor made sure to slightly pause.

"Oh gosh, I don't know. What do I have to do?"  
Vox replied, deciding to let Alastor have this little bit of fun.

"Take screenshots!! Ahahaha!"   
He continued on, sounding extremely proud of himself for that joke as a track of an audience's laughter and applause played.

Both Angel and Vox had to pause, the spider taking a more positive pause in trying to hold in a laugh while the TV was more disappointed and unamused.

"I won't hesitate to strangle you, Radio Demon."  
He simply stated in the most annoyed and displeased tone imaginable.

That's what broke Angel, practically doubling over with a wheeze.   
"What's really funny is ya think you can take him on!"

Shaking his head, Angel tried to calm himself.  
"Anyway, see ya later Vox."  
The spider chuckled and sighed as they stepped into the elevator again, starting to make their way back down to ground level.  
"Your jokes are so bad. Oh my god."

"You've got to admit my dear, that was quite a good one."   
He chuckled to Angel.

"It was clever, I gotta say."


	20. Happiest of Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cute spice~~~

After leaving the studios, the couple took their time in heading back home, walking slowly arm in arm through the streets, eating up any demons' reactions to seeing them that they could. They really were quite the terrifying pair, especially with Angel flaunting Valentino's coat around as a constant reminder to the citizens; and Alastor's presence alone was enough for demons to know not to mess with either of them.  
Soon enough though, with a clear plan of relaxation in mind for the rest of the night, they arrived back home, the door swinging open for them.

"Home sweet home!"   
Alastor chuckled, the door closing behind them once they'd stepped in.

Angel removed his coat and stretched his four arms out with a groan, tossing the coat over one of the chairs in the lounge.

"So, where's that wine you were talkin' about? Hope ya got a lot of it!"  
Angel grinned as he moved closer to Alastor, wrapping his arms around him now and peppering little kisses to his still clothed shoulder and neck.

Alastor smiled, snapping his fingers, his jacket disappearing.  
"I shall go fetch it. Don't go anywhere my darling!"   
He called as he pulled away from Angel and started for the kitchen.  
Once there, he moved over to where the alcohol was usually kept and pulled out a bottle of something old, yet to be opened and then grabbed two glasses for them. Humming to himself, the Radio Demon then returned to his lover.

Angel waited by the stairs, assuming Alastor wanted to be upstairs in their bedroom. He wasn't very adventurous in terms of setting for their love-making, but Angel didn't mind. It was great all the same.

"Just lookin' at the label, I can tell it's gunna be good."  
He smiled, taking the two glasses from the deer and started making his way up the stairs.

Following behind his lover with the bottle in hand, it was as they passed the bathroom once at the top hallway that Alastor paused.  
"Say, since this is your time to relax, perhaps a bath would sound nice?"   
He suggested, looking over his shoulder at the bathroom door.

Indeed it was true, they weren't exactly the most adventurous couple when it came to location, however that didn't mean that Alastor wasn't up for a change every once in a while.   
"Or perhaps after? Whatever you want, Anthony darling."

Angel paused, looking between Alastor and the bathroom for a moment before shaking his head.  
"Bath after. Had sex in the bathtub once before and it really wasn't great."  
The spider explained as he moved into their bedroom, smirking as he beckoned Alastor to follow.  
"C'mon you~"

Chuckling with a nod, Alastor figured that they would perhaps enjoy wine tasting a bit later. Following Angel into the room as he was beckoned, Alastor slowly closed the door behind himself, a smirk upon his face too, eyes half-lidded.

Slowly moving forwards, Alastor reached out for his lover, holding his hip with his free hand and pulled him close.

Angel held the glasses in his lower set of hands while the upper set rested against Alastor's chest, allowing himself to be pulled in.  
"Whatcha feelin' today?"  
He asked with a smirk.   
Of course he could feel what Alastor was, but he wanted to make sure he was reading him right. Though they could tune in to each other's feelings and vibrations, they couldn't flat out read each other's minds.

Moving towards the bed, they set the wine and glasses down on the nightstand for the time being before assuming their original position in each other's arms.

"I just want you to relax, my love. Leave everything to me. You more than deserve it."   
He whispered right up against the side of the spider's face, gently kissing his jaw.   
"And what about you... what are you feeling, darling?~"

"I'm pretty open to everything today. Anything you're willin' t'give, I'll be happy to accept~"  
He purred, eyes closing as his upper set of arms slowly snaked around the deer's neck as the lower set started undoing the buttons to Alastor's shirt.

With Angel's hands busy there, Alastor didn't waste a second in guiding his lover down onto the mattress, kissing down the spider's chest as he removed the leather crop top, throwing it aside.  
Slowly working on getting his lover's shorts off now, Alastor looked down, helping Angel out with his own shirt now.

"I love you Anthony... and I'm so proud of you, getting through all of this."   
He hummed against the other's fur, dragging a nail down Angel's upper left arm, drawing a little blood.

Angel's back arched a bit, trying to push himself further against the Radio Demon with a small moan as the bit of dark red-almost black blood was drawn.  
"I'm proud of myself too, and I've said it before but thank you for helpin' me with it whenever ya could."  
The spider replied softly, mismatched eyes down on Alastor as his upper set of hands ran through his hair, the lower set starting to remove his boots.

Continuing to mark Angel with his claws, Alastor ducked down, licking up some of the blood that was slowly dripping into Angel's fur, the deer's eyes closing in bliss.  
"Mhm... no thanking required."   
He muttered, getting back to slowly kissing down Angel's body, stopping once he got to just above the hem of the arachnid's shorts.

Angel could feel impatience start to bubble up in the pit of his stomach, but he did all he could in keeping it down. He wanted to take it all in, teasing and all. There was no rush to any of this.  
His body moved up against the careful touches as he let out a small huff of breath.   
It was clear he was already becoming aroused, the shorts getting tighter.

With a small grin, Alastor began to inch Angel's shorts down, taking the thin material of his underwear with it as it was slowly pulled down, the spider's arousal exposed now.  
"Just let me do all the work, Anthony... you relax~"   
The Radio Demon purred, very slowly now kissing further down Angel's waist, stopping just above where he knew the spider wanted him most.

It wasn't often that they actually got to indulge like this together. As was established, both Angel and Alastor had been pretty busy recently, so when they did get time for this, it was always with great pleasure.

With a small chuckle of his own, Angel tossed his boots off of the bed.  
"Believe me, I'm really tryin'."  
He huffed, doing the best he could in not bucking his hips upwards, instead rolling and wiggling them a bit in anticipation.

Grinning a little at the way his lover squirmed, Alastor could only chuckle, his breath catching the tip of Angel's length, one of his hands lightly gripping the base.  
From their bond alone, the deer could sense the way that his lover was feeling, and that only fuelled his own arousal.

"Fuck-"  
Angel let out another huff and small groan, his body twitched and flinched at the sudden touches, back arching a little more.  
"Are you tryna get me to beg for you?~"  
The spider chuckled lightly.

"Tut tut, such foul language."   
Alastor sighed, pulling back from Angel completely and sitting up, unbuckling his belt now.  
"You may beg if you wish, however that doesn't mean I'll listen~"   
He chuckled all the more, easily throwing off his pants before reaching across to the drawer beside the bed.

"And what if I pull the Daddy card? What then?~"  
Angel smirked, watching Alastor closely for his reaction to that. It wasn't entirely something they explored or really did anything with, so it was assumed that Alastor still wasn't one to enjoy it.

Grabbing a bottle of lubricant that was hardly used, or at least Alastor presumed it was hardly used, the deer kept it close, turning his attention back to the spider.   
"Pull it, or don't pull it. I'm sure you can tell it doesn't affect me too much."   
With a slight knowing smirk, Alastor moved back down again towards Angel's cock, giving it a few strokes before reaching further down to grab the spider's plump ass.

Angel gave an exasperated breathy groan.  
"Ugh- you're such a pain in the ass. Literally and figuratively. You're lucky I love you."  
He huffed, pushing himself into Alastor's hands as he propped himself up on his upper set of elbows, all four hands fidgeting with the bedding.

"Haha, and I love you too Anthony~ I have a feeling I'm going to be a slightly more painful pain in the ass after this."   
He laughed, pulling Angel forwards a little more by wrapping his arms around the arachnid's thighs before having him lift and spread his legs.  
Smirk ever-present on his face, with one hand Alastor brought his thumb down to lightly tease at the spider's entrance, his other hand reaching for the bottle of lubricant.

"Bring it on, Daddy~"  
Angel suppressed a chuckle, smirking to himself as he complied; raising and spreading his legs for his lover, his lower set of hands helping by holding his thighs open.

Feeling a slight shiver wrack his body at the name, Alastor poured some of the sticky liquid onto his fingers and slowly pressed just one against Angel's entrance, slowly slipping it in. 

"My dear, I have told you to refrain from that name."   
He hummed out, slowly curling and twisting the finger inside his lover.

The arachnid's left leg began to quiver as the finger was inserted, a soft moan escaping his throat that increased in volume as Alastor's finger curled. His back arched and his hips jolted slightly as the deer's claw scraped against his walls.

"I thought you said it doesn't affect you much~"  
Angel grinned with a small breathy chuckle, tilting his head down slightly as he looked at his lover with a hungry stare.  
"Didja lie to me, Daddy?~"

Keeping just one finger in Angel for now, Alastor slowly began to move that one in and out, making sure to scrape along the spider's inner walls.

"I never lie, darling..."   
The deer huffed a little, using his free hand to grip both of their cocks, stroking them together with a soft grunt.

Angel kept his legs up and open, his body reacting positively to all of the stimulation with small moans; hips jolting and shifting in hopes it would encourage Alastor to pick up the pace a bit, or at least increase the intensity of his actions.   
The spider's breath started to become a bit heavier, his eyes staying on his lover.

Growing impatient himself, it wasn't long before Alastor was sipping two more fingers in beside the first, stretching them out inside of his lover, reveling in the sound of his soft moans.  
It was for a couple of minutes that Alastor spent teasingly stretching Angel out, knowing that the spider didn't really need it, but deciding to do it all the same.

Angel's left leg twitched and quivered all through the stretching process, his moans growing a fair bit in volume with each finger added.

Eventually though, the deer pulled his fingers out, earning a whine from his lover, wiping them on the sheets before lining his cock up with the spider's hole.

"Are you ready, my love?~"   
He whispered.

With a nod, the arachnid wiggled himself up against the deer with pleading eyes looking up at him.  
"Please~"  
He huffed with a small pleasured smile.

Pulling Angel's hips closer to him, Alastor slowly thrust in with a low moan, leaning himself down to connect their lips together, his hips slowly rolling once he'd pushed all the way in, the both of their bodies flush against each other.   
"That good?~"   
He whispered, nipping Angel's bottom lip with his sharpened teeth.

Angel returned the kiss, moans escaping him even through it as the heat of his ass welcomed the deer in a happy and secure embrace.   
The spider's lower set of hands moved from his thighs to his lover's waist and the upper set held his shoulders.  
Finally nodding, Angel moaned in appreciation at the feeling of being full.  
"So good... s-so good~"

Alastor nodded in agreement at Angel's words, feeling the tip of his throbbing erection hitting the sweet spot within his lover, causing the arachnid to quake with pleasured and pleading moans.   
"I couldn't agree more, my love-"   
The Radio Demon moaned a little louder, setting one of his hands on Angel's hips, the other resting just above the spider's shoulder.

As usually happened when they were indulging in such pleasures, both of their rings began to glow significantly more than what they usually did, the light falling softly upon their faces.

Very quickly did Alastor begin a rhythm, rutting and rolling his hips forwards, jolting Angel's body forwards too from the force of the thrusts. Grunting with every thrust, Alastor kissed down Angel's neck, eventually biting down on the scar on the spider's shoulder, leaving a mark that caused specs of blood to rise to the surface.

Angel's moans grew louder as he kept his eyes open, watching Alastor closely with content and a warm glow in his eyes.

His upper right hand moved up to tangle itself in the deer's hair once again, gripping a handful lightly as he was bitten; moans growing louder at the multiple sensations taking over his body.

Angel shifted his hips ever so slightly so his lover would hit his prostate directly, causing a heavy pleasured groan to erupt from the arachnid's throat as his body twitched. He could feel the deer thickening; the pleasurable sensation of the spider's tight walls squeezing him.   
With a few more hits to his sweet spot, Angel released.

Alastor was trailing close behind, making one last rough and deep thrust before cumming in the depths of the arachnid with a low pitched moan, biting down hard against Angel's upper arm now, stuffing his lover with hot cum.

The biting only made Angel's orgasm intensify and last longer, the blood seeping into Alastor's mouth. His back arched, hips jolted, legs shook and eyes rolled back as he was filled with his lover's seed; a feeling he craved since their last sexual interaction.

Alastor closed his eyes tightly, focusing on the pleasure that wracked his entire body as he orgasmed, the dull pain from Angel's nails digging into his skin only adding to the pleasure as well.  
The static around him crackled and popped, his mind momentarily fuzzy as he came down from his wonderful high, hips slowly rolling to a stop, feeling his cum slowly wanting to spill out of Angel's hole once he'd stopped.

"So good my darling... you're so good my love..."   
Alastor quietly moaned, leaning down to lick up the blood that dripped down Angel's arm.

Angel's body naturally relaxed, aside from occasional twitching and his ass pulsating around Alastor's cock.   
A smile found its way to the spider's lips, slowly removing his nails from his lover's skin.

"Sei ancora meglio. Sei perfetto."  
Angel replied through his own quiet breathy moans as the ecstasy slowly faded into content bliss, shifting himself a bit to kiss the top of Alastor's head.

Raising to reach Angel's lips, Alastor captured them in a sweet and slow kiss, one filled with passion and overflowing love for the man below him.

"Tu es tout ce que j'aurais pu souhaiter... je t'aime."  
_*(you are everything I could have wanted. I love you)_  
He breathed out against the other's lips.

Angel felt his smile grow a bit, cupping the deer's cheeks and held the kiss, the glowing of Angel's ring intensifying a bit as it made contact with Alastor.

Moments like these made everything worth the journey it took to get to this point in time. They both worked so hard for each other's favors, and to have everything they did together made it all a perfect reality. This wasn't a dream.

Alastor chuckled gently as he felt Angel cupping his cheeks, leaning into the kiss.   
Their rings would glow every time something like this happened, and honestly in Alastor's opinion, it truly was beautiful.

The two of them lay there for a while, holding the soft kisses, Alastor whispering sweet nothings into Angel's ear.

"Do you still wish to drink the wine?"   
Alastor soon quietly asked, pulling away from their kiss, whispering his question against the spider's lips.

Angel waited to answer, busy keeping his lips against Alastor's for as long as he could get away with.   
He had actually forgotten about the wine entirely.

With a small nod, the spider placed another kiss to his lover's lips.  
"That'd be real nice. But I don't wanna move..."  
He whispered back, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Alastor placed one last kiss to Angel's lips before slowly sitting up.   
"I'll run us a bath and move you in there once it's done."   
He smiled softly, pulling out of Angel with a groan as the cold outside air welcomed him back, snapping his fingers to summon his robe.   
"You just rest my love. Let me do everything for you."  
Reaching down to run his hand through Angel's soft hair, Alastor placed another kiss to his forehead before standing up, fixing the robe around him.   
"I won't be long."

Angel's smile grew as the sweetness of Alastor's actions, giving a small 'kay' as he stayed laying down.   
Of course he was going to do something about the cum leaking from his body, otherwise, he was going to do as he was told.

Alastor left the door ajar as he exited the room, moving across the hall to the bathroom, humming a cheerful tune to himself.

He waited for Alastor to leave before giving the little skills Alastor had been teaching him whenever they had time together. Snapping his fingers, a towel appeared but it landed over his face.   
With a bit on an annoyed grunt, Angel grabbed it and started cleaning himself up and out.  
It was a work in progress, but he was definitely getting better.

Once in the bathroom, Alastor began running the bath, looking in one of the cupboards and searching through all of the soaps and bath salts they had- well, everything that Angel had bought. Alastor didn't know what any of it really was, he just chose a bottle and poured it into the slowly rising water.

With the bath running, Alastor snapped his fingers, the wine bottle and two glasses that had been in the bedroom, appearing in the deer's hands. Snapping his fingers again, a small side table appeared beside the tub, enough room to keep the bottle and glasses on.

With that all done, Alastor left the bathroom and returned to their room.   
"Okay my dear!"   
He exclaimed, moving over to Angel's side of the bed, perching on the edge of the mattress.

Angel made quick work of cleaning himself, just finishing as Alastor returned.   
Tossing the towel, the spider looked to Alastor with a smile and sat up.  
"I love you. Y'know that?"  
Angel smiled a little wider.

Alastor simply nodded with a soft smile of his own, reaching out for Angel's hand, giving it a small squeeze.  
"I know. And you know that I love you too? Just as much?"   
He asked, knowing of course what the answer would be.  
Snapping his fingers, the towel that had been tossed disappeared, saving it from being cleaned up later.

Angel gave a nod, leaning closer to the deer to give him another kiss before scooting closer to the edge of the bed, putting his feet on the floor.

"What didja use for the bath?"  
He asked only out of curiosity as he slowly stood up.   
His legs here a bit shaky, but nothing unmanageable.

Alastor had to think about that one for a moment, offering Angel a hand up and off the bed.   
"Ah, well I'm not entirely sure. I rummaged around your collection of salts and soaps and poured the nearest one to me, into the water."   
He chuckled, helping Angel stand as they began to walk towards the bathroom.

The spider stayed close to his lover as they made their way to the bathroom.   
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be perfect."

Upon making it to the end of the hallway and into the bathroom, Angel could smell what it was. It made him chuckle lightly as the smell of strawberries and cream embraced him.  
"Y'sure y'picked blindly?"  
He asked.

Once they were in the bathroom, Alastor let go of Angel's arm and closed the bathroom door, glancing over his shoulder.   
"Absolutely sure."   
He smiled, pulling on the string around his robe, hanging it up on the back of the door.

Angel gave another chuckle before turning his attention to the bottle of wine.  
"If ya say so."   
Before he did anything with the wine though, the spider opened a drawer and pulled out a hair elastic.  
"You get in first, but first, hair."

Alastor gave a small huff, and turned himself around so the spider could put his hair up in a ponytail. He always did this when they had a bath together or when they had a bit of downtime.  
With his hair now up, moving towards the tub, Alastor slowly got in, sinking into the bubbles as he watched Angel opening the bottle of wine and pouring it into the glasses.

It was upon Angel's request around a year ago, they'd installed a slightly larger tub into the bathroom so that sitting together in it would be less crowded for the two of them, despite how little they actually got to do this.

Angel got in after, the warmth of the water being absolutely perfect. Sitting with his back to Alastor, he scooted himself back to lean against his chest with a content sigh as he handed his lover one of the glasses.  
"This is perfect."

One of Alastor's arms wrapped around the spider's waist, his other hand grabbing the glass of wine and bringing it to his lips, sighing contently.

Taking the first sip from his glass, Angel's brows came together and grabbed the bottle, looking at the label.  
"How hard is it to find this?"

"Quite difficult, however I have my ways... this wine is quite old. But of course, only the best for you, Anthony darling~"

Angel raised a brow and set the glass down, keeping the bottle in hand.  
"Alright well, in that case it's mine now. You can't have anymore."  
He stated playfully, taking a swig right from the bottle as he relaxed further into his lover's chest.

Shaking his head with a smirk, Alastor slowly took the bottle away from Angel, placing it back on the table.   
"Tut tut, you shouldn't be chugging that down my dear."   
He laughed, sipping at his own drink slowly.

Angel pouted, shifting to look at Alastor properly as he took the bottle.  
"Who says I was gunna chug it? I mean... I was, but that ain't the point."  
He shrugged, picking up the glass again.

"A toast to all your hard work, I'd say!"   
Alastor added, raising the glass a bit.

"And to you, for helpin' me through it all."  
He added, raising his glass in reply before taking another sip.

Looking down at his own ring, Alastor took the spider's hand where his ring was, gently squeezing, their rings glowing at the close contact.   
"Well then, that certainly is something to toast then. A lot has changed over the span of just under three years. For the better, I'd say."

"I couldn't agree more."  
Angel smiled, taking one more sip of wine before setting his glass aside and cuddled closer to the Radio Demon.  
"I'm actually really happy with how things are and how things happened."  
He sighed, calm smile still on his face as he started running his fingers over Alastor's scarred torso.

Alastor embraced the spider with his arms, holding him close to his chest.   
"Me too, Anthony. You make me feel like I haven't in so long, all the time. And I suppose the big thing there is, why, you make me _feel_."  
And that, for the Radio Demon at least, was a very big thing to him. Something deemed impossible by others, the prospect of this powerful and unforgiving demon ever having the capability to feel, let alone love; but, it was possible and Alastor was proof.

"And you keep me sane."  
The spider replied, kissing Alastor's chin.  
It seemed to be because of the bond that they were able to keep each other balanced and stable, which Angel was extremely grateful for.  
"I love you, Edward."  
He whispered, peppering a few more kisses to his lover's face before finally planting one to his lips.

Hands moving up Angel's body to his shoulders, lightly resting there, Alastor nodded, pressing a kiss to Angel's lips as he did to him.   
"Anthony, love is an understatement as to what I feel for you. A closeness that no words can describe."   
That was all true. Every last word; and he knew that Angel could tell and feel that it was.

After this, he knew he'd have to text Molly to confirm their plans for the following morning. Otherwise, his night was open to just relaxing with Alastor.

Angel smiled a little more, feeling as though words were no longer needed. Things couldn't have been more perfect.


	21. Family Acceptance

Alastor had gone to sleep that night completely content, his lover safe in his arms after a wonderful night of relaxation together.   
And for a couple of hours, everything was peaceful.

It was through the night that Angel became restless, however. His head moving from side to side repeatedly as a horrid dream took hold.  
Dreams like these happened quite often unfortunately, even long after the events they were based around.

With his eyes suddenly shooting open, the spider jolted into a sitting position, his breathing heavy and tears in his eyes. He took a moment to process the fact that it was a dream, looking at Alastor, who was thankfully still at his side.

Thanks to their bond, Alastor always knew when the spider was in distress and in need of comforting.   
Slowly stirring, the Radio Demon brought a hand to his eyes, rubbing them as he woke up.

"Anthony darling, I'm here."   
He slowly spoke, voice still laced with sleep as he reached out for the other, already knowing that he'd woken up with a bad dream.

As he'd always done, Angel threw the blankets off and ran downstairs where he always kept the coat and glasses. He couldn't have them in their bedroom because the simple items seemed to make the haunting nightmares even worse.   
He always needed to make sure Valentino's death wasn't a dream.

Upon making it to the main floor and around to the lounge, Angel flicked the lights on.   
The coat and glasses were still just as he'd left them the day before, bringing a wave of relief to his being.  
The spider rubbed his face and sighed, crouching down for a moment. He absolutely _loathed_ this routine.

Scooting off the bed, Alastor quickly materialized down to the lounge, clearing his throat to make his presence known as to not scare his lover.   
"It's okay."   
He slowly spoke, taking a few steps forwards and crouching down himself, placing a hand to the spider's shoulder.   
"He cannot hurt you anymore. It was just a dream, my love."

Angel focused on his breathing for a few moments, keeping his head down.  
"Sorry for wakin' you..."  
He said softly, leaning against Alastor a bit.   
"I don't mean to do this every time... I should know by now."  
He added.  
Angel really did feel ridiculous when his mind stopped playing games after putting ideas in his own head and having him act out despite knowing the facts.

Alastor just shook his head, letting Angel catch his breath.   
"It's alright, my dear. People deal with trauma in all sorts of ways, you're quite alright for doing this."   
Alastor quietly explained, trying his best in soothing his lover.

On the bright side, these nightmares Angel seemed to have were getting more scarce as the weeks went by, and while the trauma of his time with Valentino wouldn't disappear completely most probably ever, Alastor knew that Angel was strong.

The arachnid wrapped his arms around Alastor slowly, giving a nod. He stayed quiet for a few moments, just taking in the safe embrace his lover was providing.  
"What time is it?"  
He finally asked. If it was still early, he'd think about going back to bed; otherwise he would start getting ready for his day out... though there was something not quite sitting right. He didn't know what it was.

"I do believe it is around two. I think if you can, you should get some more rest. After all, you're going out with your sister early."   
Alastor explained, still embracing Angel, not wanting to let him go if it was helping.   
"However, if you cannot sleep, then I shall stay up with you for the rest of the night."

With another small nod, Angel slowly started to stand.  
"Back upstairs..."  
He stated as he turned the light out, making sure to be touching Alastor with a hand at the very least as they made their way back up to their bedroom.

Alastor led Angel up the stairs, occasionally looking back over his shoulder at his lover to make sure he was alright.  
Moving back to his side of the bed, he got back in again, holding his arms out for Angel.   
"I know it's difficult, my love."

Angel got in bed and got as close to his lover as he possibly could, even going as far as bringing his third set of arms out and wrapped them around Alastor.  
"It's those stupid pills... long term withdrawal..."  
He sighed, burying his face into the deer's chest.   
Of course, with those pills having been so strong and intense, there were bound to be long term issues.

One of the first documents he came across was a deeply detailed explanation of what those pills were, how they were made, how they worked, and every possible side effect and withdrawal symptom; short term and long term.

Alastor didn't mind the tight embrace of six arms suddenly wrapped around him, he leaned into Angel, letting one of his hands rest on the others head, fingers lightly carding through the spider's hair.  
"Well, we can only hope that the long term effects of that die down soon."   
He nodded, pulling the covers back up and over them once Angel was comfortable.

"You can say that again... I'm sick of this bullshit..."  
He huffed, closing his eyes again.   
It was unlikely that he'd be able to get any more sleep; that dream having been a really nasty one, but he was going to enjoy Alastor's embrace while he could. It never failed to help him.

Alastor knew what it was like, waking from an unpleasant dream and being unable to sleep after it, and he didn't want his lover to not be able to sleep tonight. Not when he was busy the next morning.

"Get some sleep my love..."   
Alastor whispered.   
"Dors chérie bonne nuit, même si tu t'en vas."   
He continued on quietly with a slight tune to his voice. A lullaby, one his mother used to sing.   
"Loin de moi, loin d'ici, dans un monde a toi."

Angel relaxed a little more as Alastor began to sing with the added comforting gestures only helping all the more. 

Alastor continued on, knowing that Angel always enjoyed this. He could only hope that it would help the other in getting some rest again.   
"Dors chérie bonne nuit, attends donc le jour. Dors chérie bonne nuit, bonne nuit mon amour..."  
Holding Angel closer, the Radio Demon pressed a kiss to the side of his head, his own eyes closing.

As Angel listened, he couldn't help but hum along softly. This wasn't his first time hearing the song and it definitely wasn't going to be the last.  
As the kiss was placed, Angel took the next line.  
"Je chasserais tes mauvais rêves j'écraserai les fleurs du mal..."

Alastor smiled to himself as he quieted down, listening to Angel quietly singing the next line of the song that had been sung so many times.  
"Je détruirais la moindre fièvre pour que tu n'es jamais plus mal. Vois ton étoile qui s'allume, voici un monde merveilleux."   
He continued on from Angel, his eyes still closed as he ran his fingers through Angel's hair still.

"La rivière des mondes de lune, et la chanson de l'oiseau bleu."  
The spider continued.  
Despite being calm and relaxed again, he didn't feel like he'd be sleeping again that night but he was going to stay with Alastor until he initially planned on getting up.

"Dors chérie bonne nuit, attends donc le jour.... Dors chérie bonne nuit, bonne nuit mon amour. Bonne nuit mon amour."  
They finished in sync, a sigh leaving the arachnid.

As the song came to a quiet end, Alastor opened his eyes, slowly looking to Angel.

"Feeling any better?"   
The deer slowly asked. Whether Angel got any more rest that night, of course, that wasn't down to Alastor, but whatever his lover chose, he would stay with him the entire night.

"A lot better. Thanks babe."  
He replied, looking back at Alastor in the still very dark room. Shifting slightly, Angel retracted his third set of arms again and kissed his lover softly.  
He did feel a little guilty about having to put Alastor through this constantly, but he knew the deer truly didn't mind. His patience was greatly appreciated and meant a lot to the spider.

Alastor shifted to let Angel's third set of arms unwrap from around him, suddenly feeling soft lips against his own.   
Smiling just as softly, Alastor kissed back, bringing a hand up to cup Angel's cheek as they sweetly kissed. He could sense the slight guilt that Angel was feeling, and he could guess what that was for.

"Don't feel bad... it's not your fault."   
The deer whispered, pulling back from their kiss just barely.

"I know it's not but... I can't help it."  
Angel sighed, leaning into the deer's hand as he brought one of his own hands to cup his cheek in return as he resumed the kiss.

Alastor nodded in understanding, knowing that it wasn't something that Angel chose to do. He didn't choose to feel bad, it was something that happened as a result of the unfortunate events of his life before all of this.

For a while, the two of them lay there, kissing sweetly, Alastor whispering words of reassurance into Angel's ear as he stayed up with him.

Angel truly appreciated all that the deer had done and was continuing to do for him; all of it making everything that much easier knowing that he was being fully supported and loved unconditionally. Of course he returned the support and love any chance he got.

They laid there, exchanging words and actions of genuine affection through the rest of the night until Angel's phone went off.   
With a huff, the arachnid turned himself and grabbed his phone, dismissing the noise.

It was at Angel's alarm that Alastor realized the time. It truly didn't feel like hours had passed.   
"What time are you meeting with your sister?"   
Alastor slowly asked with a slight yawn, running a hand through his hair.   
"And do you still wish for me to come with you?"

"Meeting her in about forty-five minutes to an hour."  
Angel replied with his own yawn, Alastor's having triggered it.  
"You can come if you want. Could getcha a spiffy new suit or somethin'~"  
He grinned, giving the deer a quick peck before sitting up and stretching his arms.

"Hmm, I may come along."   
He chuckled, sitting up on his elbows, looking across at the other.

"Isn't this the week that your pig visits as well?"   
Thanks to Molly and Angel's agreement of 'shared custody' of Fat Nuggets, they got every other two weeks with the pig.

"Yup! Everything's all set for that. Just gotta pick up some more food for the cute little stinker before comin' home."  
Angel replied with a nod, looking at Alastor with a smile before making his way out of bed and over to the wardrobe.

Alastor had grown to not see Fat Nuggets as much of a piece of meat anymore, and more just simply a pig. He still didn't see why Angel kept it as a pet though, but he supposed some things that Angel did were unexplainable.

"Well then, we should be getting ready."   
He concluded, standing from the bed and simply snapping his fingers, usual pinstriped suit appearing upon his frame.

"Oh! Oh oh oh I wanna try doin' that again!"  
Of course, the bond gave Angel some of the same powers Alastor had. He'd gotten the tentacles, access to the void, and now they were working on a few other things; this particular ability included.  
Snapping his fingers, Angel's outfit changed... but not exactly as he wanted.   
One of his boots was on his hand rather than his foot, a shirt was draped over his head and the pants were only half on.

Alastor watched with a raised brow as Angel tried to change his outfit with a snap of his fingers. And of course, Alastor was hopeful. However, unfortunately so, it didn't go as planned.

"Hmm, yes perhaps we do need to work on that more."   
Alastor nodded with a slight laugh, taking a step forwards and plucking the shirt off from Angel's head, handing it to him.   
"Just slightly off. You'll get it eventually."

"How long did it take you to get it?"  
The spider asked as he took the boot off of his arm and accepted the shirt, starting to fix himself up manually.

Because of the lack of powers he gained from Valentino- or... maybe he did have powers that the roach had, but he refused to acknowledge them and use them? Either way, the abilities Alastor shared with him made up for the lost ones.   
Then again, Valentino didn't really have any to begin with. Nothing extravagant, at least.

Alastor had to think about that one for a moment, glancing upward at the ceiling in thought.   
"Perhaps just under a year? I'm not entirely sure, it was so long ago now."   
He concluded, waving his arm in the air, microphone appearing in his grasp.

It had been a while now since their bond had been created, and for a while, Alastor had been teaching Angel not only how to control the attributes gained, but also some aspects of magic, parts of voodoo too, since he'd seemed interested.

"I guess you had a lotta nonstop practice too, somethin' I didn't really have until now."  
The arachnid shrugged, fixing his outfit and properly dressed himself.

"Oh yes, I had more free time than I knew what to do with upon manifesting!"   
He laughed, twirling his microphone around himself, moving towards the bedroom door, it opening for him.

"Anyways. Whatcha want for breakfast?"  
He continued as he slowly trailed behind, his focus being on the buttons.

"Why, I don't mind my dear! We don't have long, so something small will have to do!"

Angel walked towards the door as well but stopped and snapped his fingers upon remembering he'd need his phone. The phone appeared in front of the spider's face before dropping into his hand.

"Holy shit I did it! Kinda- gotta get it in my hand."  
Angel smiled. It was an improvement from the last time he tried to summon his phone, it having appeared in his mouth.  
He started making his way to the stairs and down, thinking about what he'd make.

Alastor had made it to the stairs, glancing around his shoulder at Angel just as the spider snapped his fingers.   
"Why, that was excellent, Anthony! Good job. An improvement certainly!"   
He laughed, leading the spider down the stairs and into the kitchen.  
He was proud of Angel, of course. He'd come a long way in two years in terms of all sorts of things, and Alastor was excited for the future.

Humming a happy tune with a skip in his step, Angel looked in the refrigerator for options.   
The spider himself wasn't in much of a mood to eat, still having a bit of a sick feeling from the abrupt awakening a few hours earlier.  
"Y'wanna just head out and maybe get somethin' later?"

Alastor followed Angel into the kitchen, leaning against one of the counters as he watched the arachnid rummage through the appliance.

"Yes, that's a much better idea. I will admit, I'm not that hungry currently."   
He nodded.   
"Where exactly will Molly be meeting you?"

Closing the fridge, Angel grabbed his phone from his pocket and rubbed his eye.  
"That's a good question..."  
He began typing a message on the device to his sister, seeing where they were going to meet, not having discussed it yet.

Sending the message, Molly seemed to be quick to reply.  
"She says that she might be a while, so if we wanna head over to her place- in brackets: not stew's- we can all head out from there..."  
Angel looked to Alastor again, a small pang of nervousness smacking him in the gut.  
"Wanna go see my Dad again?"  
He laughed halfheartedly.

Alastor just nodded. He knew how Angel's father and brother thought of their own family member, and while it was sad, unfortunately there wasn't much that even Alastor could do.

"Why, he and your brother are always an absolute joy to be around!"   
He laughed, voice laced with sarcasm.

Tapping his foot for a moment as he thought, Angel gave a sigh.  
"Well, let's get goin' then. Not like they'll be able to do anything to me anyway."  
He shrugged, heading for the lounge to grab a few things from the pocket of his coat before going to the door.

Why Angel still feared his father and brother so much was still a mystery. If they tried anything or got on the spider's nerves enough, he'd be able to take action and kill them himself in an instant. He had more power than they did now. He had more status- he _always_ had more status than they did! The only difference now was that they literally couldn't touch him.

It was true. Alastor knew for a fact that if Henroin or Arackniss tried anything, Angel wouldn't hesitate to kill them. They'd hurt him enough through his life that the spider wouldn't show any hesitation if it came down to it.

"Well then, let us go without further ado!"   
He exclaimed, holding out his arm for his lover to take.

Angel smiled and took Alastor's arm. the rings giving their usual soft glow as the contact was made, heading for the front door as it opened on its own for them to leave.   
Stepping out, there was a slight breeze that ran itself through Angel's hair that made him pause.  
"Think we're in for a storm..."  
He stated softly before continuing with Alastor towards the city.

"Hm, metaphorically or literally?"   
Alastor asked.   
"I sure hope not, I find those searing heat storms quite the annoyance. Haha, and don't get me started on the rain!"

Any sort of weather down in Hell, aside from anything involving intense heat or eroding acidic rain, was near impossible. Regular rain was a no, as was any sort of cold temperature.

The walk to Molly's residence- not Stewart's, despite the fact that she practically lived there now, the walk wasn't usually too long, and besides, any time Alastor was out walking with his lover, it was a joy.

"I dunno... hopefully we get home before whatever it is hits."  
Angel laughed a bit.   
This feeling he had though. He hadn't felt it in a long while; and not to this extent.   
This sense he had never seemed to be wrong. It would usually be a simple tingle in his fingertips and sometimes legs if the storm was due to be a nasty one.   
This time though, there was an added tingle in his chest and throat.  
It was odd that it started only as the outside wind hit him.

"Yes, getting caught up in those things certainly isn't very convenient in the slightest."

Alastor knew that Angel had a great intuition and sense for when a storm was about to show up down in Hell, so he didn't doubt his lover's words now either. There most likely was something coming, but it wouldn't be anything Alastor should worry about, so long as they were inside when it happened.

Of course they had ways of getting home without having to go outside, and he supposed they would be able to use that method for Molly too, if it came down to it.   
But Angel was still worried. Something was just... off.

Pulling his mind back to the present and focusing on the task at hand, the spider looked at Alastor and smiled a bit.  
"I think it'll be a good chance to huddle up inside and practice some more. I'm gettin' better but could use the practice."

"Yes, perhaps. However storms do not last too long my dear, so I can't imagine we'll get a lot done in a few hours."   
He sighed, the two of them nearing Molly's home now.

"Doesn't mean we can't keep goin' when it's all over."  
He stated with a shrug, spotting their destination. The subtle tight feeling in his stomach only grew at the sight. The arachnid took a breath as they walked up to the door and gave a few quick knocks.

The door quickly swung open to a beaming Molly holding Fat Nuggets.   
"C'mon in gentlemen!"

It seemed to take the pig a moment to process, but once it did, the pig squirmed and squealed excitedly in Molly's arms.

Angel's eyes lit up as soon as he saw his pet, four arms extending as he took the animal into his arms.  
"Hi baby!! I'm so happy to see you!!"  
He exclaimed as he stepped inside of the house.

"Why, hello Miss Molly!"   
Alastor nodded as they were let into the home, the deer letting go of Angel's arm once they were in and Fat Nuggets had been taken into the spider's arms.   
"I trust you are well this morning? And I hope that Stewart is well too."

Looking across at Angel, Alastor raised a brow. He could tell that his lover was feeling perhaps a little off about being here; and Alastor didn't blame him, but luckily, it didn't seem that his father nor brother were around which seemed to help the case. It was clear those nerves melted away as soon as Fat Nuggets was noticed though.

Molly grinned and giggled, watching as her brother reunited with his pet but raised a brow as he lowered himself to the floor and laid down; allowing the pig to smother him.

Bringing her attention back to Alastor, she closed the door.  
"Oh yeah, Stew and I are great! Just had to come by and do some housework. Daddy and Frankie are totally useless when it comes to cookin' and cleanin'."  
She stated with a roll of her eyes.

The female spider's attention moved back down to her brother.  
"Tony get your ass up and move it to the living room! Jesus Christ you're weird!"  
Molly huffed with her lower set of hands on her hips while the upper set reached down to get the pig off of him.

Angel huffed and got up off of the floor, brushing himself off.  
"Sorry. Just excited to see my baby again!"  
He mused as he pinched the pig's chunky cheeks.

"And I suppose your father and brother are not present? Or at least will not be speaking with us if they are here?"   
Alastor asked Molly as they moved to the lounge area, taking a seat down on one of the couches, watching Fat Nuggets as it was carried into the room.

Despite Angel's status now down here, it seemed that both Henroin and Arackniss still didn't care for Anthony any more than they had done before he killed Valentino.   
Even with Angel's regular contact with Molly, they still didn't make any sort of effort over the two years to reach out to him to even hold a conversation.

Molly shook her head, handing the pig back to Angel as he sat down beside Alastor.  
"No, they're out for a bit. I should be finished in a few minutes so we'll be long gone before they get back."  
She smiled.

Angel tilted his head a bit.  
"Ya want some help? Get us outta here faster?"  
He hadn't gotten to have a good look around the place yet, so this might be a good time to do a bit of investigating.

"Don't be ridiculous! The both of you are workin' hard enough as it is! Rulin' over this place like the true power couple you two are, it's gotta be exhausting!"  
Molly exclaimed as she made her way out of the room again.

"Well, if you insist my dear, then we shall just wait here!"   
Alastor called to Molly as she stepped out of the room to finish the last of her jobs.

Glancing back over to Angel who had the pig once again, Alastor smiled a little.   
"Why, I'd say that pork chop is quite excited to see you again. Even though it's only been a mere two weeks, haha!"

Angel couldn't help but grin, glancing over at Alastor as the pig continued to practically maul him.  
"He's a really happy boy! I think he's gained some pounds too actually. Nugs go see Al. He missed you too, go show him some of your fat piggy love!"  
Angel snapped his fingers a few times and pointed to Alastor, getting the pig's attention.

Fat Nuggets turned to the Radio Demon and quickly scuttled into his lap now with a few happy snorts, bringing its trotters up to the deer's chest and sniffed at him.

Alastor watched with mild unamusement as the pig moved into his lap, definitely heavier than last time.   
"Yes yes, please do stay with Anthony over there."   
He added, scooping the pig up and setting it quickly back down again onto the floor.  
"I'm sure you enjoy the pig's company more than I do."  
Alastor still wasn't fond of the thing, however as he'd mentioned, he didn't see him so much as a meal anymore.

The pig flopped down onto Alastor's feet with a content snort.   
Angel was about to speak when the sound of the front door opened followed by footsteps, and the door closed again, which made Angel become tense.

The moment that Alastor heard the door opening, two demons voices filling the air, he sighed. 

Henroin's voice was clear as he instructed Arackniss to put their guns away in Italian before moving through the entrance hall, the smaller dark spider making his way to the back of the house where the gun cabinet was kept but stopped as soon as he noticed the abnormalities in the lounge.  
Henroin was quick to follow as Arackniss stopped, silently looking into the room where Angel and Alastor sat.

"Well, if it ain't the runt."  
The father huffed with narrowed eyes.

"Dad. Frank. Lookin' well."  
Angel greeted simply, forcing himself to stay calm and composed.

Alastor figured it best for him not to say anything right now until the other two left the room. If he did speak up, he couldn't guarantee it would be pleasant.

Henroin's eyes narrowed all the more, Arackniss left continuing with his little job like he was told to.

"Guess you ain't a runt anymore, aye? Mister big-shot overlord now."  
The father continued, leaning against the door frame.  
"Must be a nice little upgrade."

"Mhm. Real great, Pops."  
Angel replied simply, not wanting to say too much.

"Gotta say I'm impressed. I'd be more impressed if ya got to where you're at all on your own."  
Henroin's eyes darting to Alastor for a moment.

"I'm fine with how I got here. Real happy, actually."  
Angel's hand moved to find his lover's to both prove a point and to seek comfort.

"Hm. Shit like that don't last. Get your head outta the clouds and man up. I didn't raise anya my damn kids t'be fuckin' pussies."  
Henroin stated before carrying on to the back of the house where Arackniss had gone to.

Angel's grip tightened slightly on Alastor's hand.  
"You didn't raise me at all, but alright."  
He huffed under his breath when he knew his father was out of range.

Alastor was silent all throughout Henroin's little dig at his own son, despite having many things to say.   
When Angel grabbed his hand, Alastor squeezed back softly, keeping their fingers intertwined even as Henroin left the room. 

"He's wrong."   
Alastor simply nodded, taking two of Angel's hands in one of his own.  
"You know it, I know it, Molly knows it. He's simply deluded my dear."

Angel gave his lover a small smile and a nod.  
"I know. He'll see it with his own eight stupid eyes."  
He knew he couldn't show weakness around his father, which also meant he had to keep his anger at bay as well. If Angel showed that the things his father was saying got to him, it would only make the situation worse.

"I wouldn't worry, Anthony."   
The Radio Demon stated softly.

Molly came down the stairs and stopped, mouthing and making wild hand gestures, who in turn mouthed words and made hand gestures as a reply before she moved along to properly greet the rest of her family who'd just come in.

Alastor looked to Molly as she entered the room, raising a brow at all the hand gestures and silent talking that was going on; and when Molly left the room again, Alastor turned back to his lover.   
"They're simply bitter that you have done well for yourself, as an overlord now."

"I'm happy with how things are, Al. I wouldn't change a thing just to make some lowlife piece of shit happy."  
Angel replied, kissing his partner's cheek.

Some hushed Italian was thrown back and forth from the dining room just out of sight between the other three arachnids.

Fat Nuggets moved off of Alastor's feet and moved to Angel's now with a bit of a snort.  
"Everything's fine."  
Angel told mostly himself as the quiet arguing continued for a few more moments.

The three of them slowly strode back into the lounge, the annoyed-looking men in front and Molly standing behind them with a happy smile.

"Anthony, I would like to take this opportunity to say..."  
Henroin began, sounding as if he were unenthusiastically reading from a script.  
"...that I am proud to call ya my son. I know ya had a hard time and I didn't make it entirely easy. For that, I am sorry."

Molly's attention moved over to the shorter brother now, who looked back at her for a moment and then to his dad, who then nudged him.

With a small grunt, Arackniss looked to Angel with an indifferent expression.  
"I ain't got a choice but ta say ya dun good. You're my runt brother and we gotta protect each other."

Alastor for one was quite shocked at this sudden conversation that was happening- so he couldn't even imagine what Angel himself was feeling.   
Of course, it was obvious that Molly had prompted all of this, no surprise, but for the two male spiders to actually be talking to Angel like this? Well, it was quite the shocker.   
Not in the two years that Alastor had somewhat known Angel's father or brother, had they spoke a full decent sentence towards him.

Obviously, Alastor saw that this wasn't his place to say anything, so he simply took Angel's hand again, looking to him.

Needless to say, Angel was really taken aback by their words, eyes darting between the two of them. Never in a million years did he think under any circumstances would they say anything remotely like that.

"We're family. Your mother would be really pissed if she saw how I raised ya."  
Henroin added, again, sounding like he was reading from a script.

Molly cleared her throat a bit, which prompted Henroin to hesitantly open his arms.

Angel glanced to Alastor for a moment, completely unsure of how to react.   
He knew deep down that nothing said was really genuine, but he supposed if it would make his sister happy to witness such an event. They seemed to be trying, so he guessed it was only right to try as well.

Letting go of Alastor's hand and shifted his feet so Fat Nuggets would move, Angel stood and slowly made his way over to his family.

"It's... it's fine Papa. I know I was a real shit and didn't make anything easy."  
The overlord arachnid spoke before opening his own arms and moved in, the two awkwardly embracing for the first time in history.

Molly cleared her throat again and Arackniss turned to her.  
"No, that's where I draw the fuckin' line. Fuck you."  
He snarled, crossing his three sets of arms over his chest.

Angel pulled away from his Dad and looked to his brother with a bit of a smirk.  
"C'mon, ya know ya wanna."

Arackniss started walking away but Angel was quick to grab him and pull him into a tight, bone-crushing hug.

"I ain't the runt anymore. Eat shit, Frankie."  
Angel stated, digging a fist into the top of his brother's head before letting him go.

Alastor watched on with a surprised expression as Angel spoke to his family, even going so far as to hug them. The words they were saying weren't genuine by any means, Alastor could sense that much, but at least they were happening. The deer hoped at least the older arachnids could at least learn something from all of this. No thanks to Molly.

Arackniss quickly fixed himself, muttering some Italian as he started walking away.

Molly grinned and clapped her hands.  
"I'm so proud of my family!"  
She chimed, pulling both Angel and Henroin into a tight hug; leaving Arackniss out of it seeing as he threatened to shoot someone in the leg if he was touched like that again by anyone.  
Both of the men were a bit hesitant in returning the hug, though Angel was more compliant. Molly was gracious and kept it quick, letting them go again.

"How's about we out now, yeah?"  
The female aimed her question at Angel and Alastor, before turning to her father and started explaining some things to him while Angel made his way back over to Alastor.

He honestly looked like he'd seen a ghost but kept an odd and forced smile on his face regardless.


	22. When Hell Freezes Over

Alastor couldn't have been happier to hear a prompt to leave, the atmosphere a little awkward now that all was said and done.

"Why yes Molly, that's an excellent idea!"   
Alastor exclaimed as he clapped his hands together, quickly standing a moving towards the door.  
Time was getting on after all, and if Angel's prediction was correct, then Alastor for one didn't want to have to cut their time out short due to a possible storm.

Angel stuck by the deer now, the events of just now almost scared him.   
Linking arms with his partner the two went to the door as Molly finished up her explanation before Henroin made his way to the back of the house again.

"I guess Nuggets can stay here and the two of ya can pick 'im up after, right?"  
She asked with a smile, grabbing her handbag.

"Yes, I do think that to be better. We can pick both him and all of his supplies up once we return."   
Alastor nodded, looking over at Angel with a small smile, silently reassuring him.   
"So, any ideas as to what shops are first?"

Angel opened the door and stepped outside, pulling Alastor out with him, Molly following close behind.

"I was thinkin' we go to that one plaza in the East end with all those nice boutiques. I know Tony loves those ones, don'tcha Rigatoni!"  
Molly grinned as she started to lead the way.

Angel, still quite shaken up, just nodded with a small hum.  
"Sure do."

Alastor and Angel followed behind Molly as they left the house and began to head towards the East end of the pentagram.   
With Molly facing forwards, Alastor took the opportunity to quickly lean across to his lover and place a small kiss to his cheek.

"Don't let it get you down my dear, smile!"   
He whispered, moving his hand from being linked with Angel's arm, to holding his hand instead.

"I'm not down about it. I'm more... erm- weirded out? Kinda freaked? Like seein' ya do that freaky shit ya do for the first time. Remember that?"  
Angel explained, giving a small laugh at the memory as he gently squeezed his lover's hand.  
"A lot happened that day..."  
He sighed, looking back at all that happened back then.

"Ah yes, a lot has happened since then. Many days have passed, haha."   
Alastor nodded, snapping his fingers with his free hand to make his microphone disappear, hand resting behind his back.

"What're you love birds talkin' about, huh?"   
Molly called, looking over her shoulder with a small giggle.

Angel raised a brow towards his sister.  
"Oh, nothin', just how fuckin' weird it was hearin' Dad and Frank say all that shit. Not to mention that hug-"  
He stated, looking around a bit. It was still fairly early in the morning so there weren't many demons out prowling the streets.

Slowing down so that she was walking beside the couple now, Molly just laughed.   
"I hope that wasn't too much. I just, for once, wanted them to be nice t'ya; and they really needed to apologize."   
She smiled, knowing that if she was the one asking for it, then Henroin would do whatever his daughter asked of him.

"It was honestly one of the top most terrifying experiences of my existence."  
Angel explained, linking his free arms with his sister, still holding Alastor's hand with the other.  
"I know ya meant well, but _please_ don't have 'em do that again."

Molly laughed again, leaning close to her brother once they'd linked arms.   
"D'aw, I'm sorry Rigatoni. Did Arackniss' little grouchy expression terrify you for life when he 'accepted' that hug?"   
She chuckled, knowing that her other brother back at home was more reluctant than even their father to talk to Anthony.

Angel gave a chuckle of his own, shaking his head.  
"It was a thing of nightmares."  
He stated.

He knew how hard his sister was working towards having the family on somewhat good terms even before they all died.   
He had to admit, he had his doubts that she'd manage to get as far as she had.

"What was scarier though... Dad actually touched me _without_ hurtin' me. That's what _really_ threw me off."

"Wow, yeah, guess that was pretty out of character for 'im, hah. But hey! At least he kinda seemed sincere! A bit."

Okay, so maybe Molly had prompted both her father and brother to say literally everything that she'd asked, but the most important thing in her opinion, was that they actually said it.

"Thanks for tryin', Molls. As long as they put effort in, I guess I can too. I ain't got anything to lose for it."  
Angel smiled.

The wind picked up again, which reminded him of the storm.  
"We gotta make this quick. No more than an hour or two. Somethin's comin' in..."  
Angel added, his hand that held Alastor's tightened a bit as he looked to the sky. There was nothing out of the ordinary so far...

Molly looked up to the dark sky as her brother spoke, blinking a couple of times.   
"You can tell?"   
She asked, slightly curious.

Angel gave a nod to his sister.  
"It's gunna be nasty this time. I can feel it. I dunno how to explain it."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry my dear. I can't imagine we'll be very long shopping!"   
Alastor then piped up, looking across at his lover.

Angel looked back at the Radio Demon and gave a small smile. It helped knowing he was there and that all three of them would be safe.

"Well, I hope we don't get caught up in it."   
Molly nodded, knowing how rough the storms could be down there.

It didn't take them long in getting to their destination, all throughout their walk, Alastor kept looking up to the sky, frowning softly. He could sense that Angel was feeling something, and he too could feel something as well. He didn't know what either... and he could tell it wasn't good, but it was slowly becoming unsettling.

"So how's this gunna work? Do we wanna do Al first and then us or the other way around?"  
Angel asked, looking around at all of the shops starting to open.

"Hm? Oh, I don't mind, my dear. You and Molly get what you want first."   
The deer turned his attention back to the other two.

The twins raised a brow at each other, almost as if they were having a telepathic conversation with each other as their facial expressions changed as if they were expressing while speaking.

"We'll get your stuff first. It'll be fast."  
Angel finally said as he turned to the deer, the twins starting to lead the way.

"If you insist, then alright."   
Alastor nodded, following after the two arachnids through the streets, past all the different stores that were opening.

The store where Alastor usually bought all of his suits was just up ahead, and while he didn't want anything too snazzy, it would be nice to look at the collection.

Angel and Molly entered the shop, Molly letting go of her brother to start looking around, probably for something for Stewart.

"Whatcha thinkin'?"  
Angel asked, aiming generally as they started looking around on their own. He could tell Alastor had something on his mind.

Alastor hummed to himself as he looked around, eyes narrowing at some of the suit pieces he was looking at.

"Hm, something simple. Simplicity is key, my dear."   
He nodded, smiling slightly as he looked towards his lover.   
"Do you wish for anything?"   
He asked, waving his hand around the small store.

Angel glanced around for a moment. He would admit that the suits here were really nice and top quality.  
"Mmm, not seein' anything that I need right this minute."  
He replied just before a thought entered his mind, causing a small leap in his chest as a smirk found a place on his lips. Of course Alastor would never do such a thing, but the thought alone was rather amusing.

Alastor just about picked up on the smirk as he turned around to look through the suits again, the deer raising a brow.   
"And what might that smirk be for, my love?"   
He asked with a small chuckle, pulling out one of the suits, looking it over before putting it back with a small shake of his head.

"Oh, nothing."  
The spider replied with a cheeky grin, moving so he was in front of the rack Alastor was looking through, mismatched eyes narrowed a bit.   
"Just a little idea for us to have fun with at home."

"Oh?"   
Alastor hummed, glancing across his shoulder to make sure Molly wasn't too close by- which she wasn't, she was across the store looking at some other suits.  
"Care to enlighten me? Or is it something for you to know, and me to find out perhaps?"

"Oh no, it's somethin' you find out about _after_ it happens."  
Angel's grin only widened as he plotted in his mind of how he was going to get it to work.  
The spider reached up and cupped Alastor's chin lightly, turning his head as he examined his face a bit.  
"I think you're more ivory... maybe arabesque?"

Alastor couldn't help the smile that was on his face as Angel had him turn his head, spewing out what sounded like nonsense to the deer.  
"Alright my love, whatever you say."   
Smoothly pulling away from Angel, Alastor turned on his heels, walking over to Molly where some of the finer suits were located.  
After a few moments of looking, Alastor pulled out a deep red one, the lining of the jacket ebony-colored silk it seemed.

Angel was quick to follow, looking over at Molly as one of his lower hands held Alastor's waist.  
"Find anything, Molls?"

Her head turned from a dark grey suit she was holding up.  
"I think so! Whatcha think for Stew?"  
She asked, turning it so her brother could see.

"Mighty fine, Hug Drug."  
Angel grinned, turning to what Alastor picked out.

"I think this one will do nicely my dear, what do you think of it?"   
Alastor asked Angel, holding out the suit before him to inspect.   
It was of a nice quality, which Alastor expected from this place- he'd been shopping for suits here for decades.

"You're easy to shop for, aye?"  
The spider chuckled lightly, feeling the fabric of the suit for a moment before giving a satisfied nod.  
"Ain't bad though. Would be better in pink, but if ya want this one I think it's nice."  
He kissed the deer's cheek.

"Yes, I think I shall leave the pink wearing to you, my dear. I do not particularly care for it."   
He grinned, smiling at the kiss to his cheek before taking the suit over to the demon that was waiting at the counter, Molly in front of him buying the suit intended for Stewart.

Angel's brows raised for a moment.  
"Ya say that now~"  
He cooed, walking ahead of Alastor as he pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to the clerk before Molly could even blink.

"You put that away!"  
She stated as she slapped her brother's arm.  
"Overlord or not, I can pay for my own shit!"

Angel ignored her and continued paying for the suit with a smile.

Molly huffed and pulled a wad of cash out of her own pocket and shoved it into Angel's hand, which he didn't take.  
"Tony, lo giuro su Dio."

Alastor watched with much amusement at the exchange between the twins, seeing Molly shoving money towards Angel.  
"Molly, with Anthony being the gentleman he is, he wants to pay for that for you."   
He grinned, motioning to the dark grey suit that was on the counter.

Molly crossed her arms over her body and huffed with a pout.  
"Fine. Then I'm payin' for our dresses."  
She nudged Angel as the transaction finished and the clerk carefully started to bag the suit.

"That's what you think."  
Angel chuckled, slipping the card back into his pocket.

Once Stewart's suit had been all bagged up, the clerk moved over to Alastor, giving him a nod of recognition, not only due to being the ruler of this place but because he was a loyal customer over many years.

"Where to next then, my dears?"   
Alastor asked the two spiders as he paid the clerk, the demon transferring the suit into the bag.

"Hellfluent!"  
Molly grinned, upper set of arms raising into the air.

"Fuck, I love Hellfluent."  
Angel sighed with a smile as if he were daydreaming.   
The wind linked arms again, Angel holding his hand out to his lover once the suit was paid for and bagged.

"Hellfluent? I'm afraid I haven't heard of the place."   
Alastor explained as he carefully took Angel's hand, snapping his fingers with his other hand, the bagged suit disappearing, appearing back in his wardrobe at home.  
He was rather glad that he came along today, despite the prospect of shopping not being exactly Alastor's favorite.

Angel and Molly gave each other a look that wasn't readable to anyone other than themselves.  
"Might not be your scene but it'll be fun!"  
Angel finally spoke as they started making their way through to their destination.   
It was a fairly high class looking shop, dresses of all kinds lining the walls and racks.

Alastor wasn't exactly sure what that meant, the majority of stores in Hell weren't his 'scene' at all.  
As they approached the shop, from the outside alone Alastor didn't see anything wrong with it, so simply followed the two spiders in.

A wide and excited smile planted on the twins' faces as they walked inside, Molly leading them to a cluster of dresses.

Once inside, Alastor looked around with a bit of a raised brow.

Molly began carding through the rack, stopping after a moment.  
"Oh! We still have to figure out where we're going!"  
She stated as soon as she realized.

"Al's got a place in mind, actually."  
Angel piped up as he too started looking through the options.

"Oh, then it's bound to be real fancy!"  
The sister beamed, pulling a dress out to inspect it.

"It's nothing overly fancy my dear, just a place ran by a good friend of mine!"   
The deer smiled.   
"Now, you two carry on, I'll just be over here."

Alastor had to admit, some of the items of clothing he was looking at were rather... revealing in some way or another, definitely not what he'd call classy at all, however it was fine. With Molly and Angel looking through clothing, Alastor decided to make his way over to the counter and to the demon that was standing there.

Angel and Molly talked about possible places Alastor had in mind.   
Angel hadn't met many of Alastor's friends, let alone acquaintances. The only memorable ones were Niffty, who he'd met quite a few times; and Husk, and he didn't seem like the kind to own anything, only living at casinos and bars. Then again, Angel knew the Radio Demon was acquainted with a lot of demons. With his status and such, it was almost expected he'd at least know of a lot of different demons.

Grabbing a light pink satin, floor-length dress from the rack, Angel held it up to himself. It was very form-fitting but still had a fine touch of elegance to it.  
"Whatcha think of this one?"

Molly looked to the dress that her brother held up, a wide smile tugging at her lips as she leaned in closer to inspect it, nodding greatly.   
"Oh Tony, absolutely yes! Y'already know everythin' looks great on you, and pink suits you so much, sugar!"   
She giggled, pulling out another dress from the rack that she'd spotted a moment ago.

The dress Molly pulled out was a darker shade of blue, and while it was significantly shorter in length than the one Angel had picked it, it was by no means tacky.   
"Stew says blue looks great on me, so I was thinking about getting somethin' that color."   
She smiled, sighing slightly as she remembered the beautiful blue color of her eyes when she was alive. They would have matched the dress perfectly.

Angel looked over to his sister, placing a hand on her back as he inspected her dress too.  
"You should listen to him, 'cause he's right. Blue is a beautiful color on ya. Always has been."  
This gave him another idea, but he'd have to talk it over with Alastor before making any promises. Then again, with a little more practice, he'd be able to execute it all on his own.

Laughing softly, Molly held the dress up against herself with a firm nod of her head, taking one of her brothers arms and pulling him close in a sort of side hug.

"I just adore it when we get all dolled up for the night 'n have a fun time together!"   
The female spider exclaimed, knowing how busy her brother had been lately. He needed some downtime, and Molly had been wanting to go on a sort of double date for ages now. They'd done one around seven months ago, which was far too long ago in Molly's opinion.

Angel returned the hug with a smile and a nod of agreement.   
"Well, we'll be able to do it all more often. We finished the last of the reorganization just yesterday!"  
He replied.

"Oh really? That's great! I'm so happy that it's finally done."   
She beamed, looking over to Alastor, who had just finished speaking with the cashier at the front, who also happened to be the owner of the store as well. 

"Why, thank you! It's much appreciated!"   
He grinned, walking away from the cashier and back over to the two spiders.  
"Has everything been chosen?"

Angel's head turned to Alastor as he spoke and approached.  
"I think so! Whatcha think of this one?"  
He asked, letting go of his sister to show the Radio Demon his find, holding the long dress up to his body. The satin fabric giving its hint of shine in the light.

Alastor stopped in front of his lover, looking down at the dress that Angel held to his body.   
"Why, I think that's marvelous, my dear! Yes indeedy! That will look stunning on you."   
The deer praised cheerfully, reaching out to feel the soft satin fabric.   
"Filled with the upmost class and style!"

"It's gunna be even better when you get to take it offa me."  
Angel hummed in reply with a sly smirk before turning to his sister.

"Why, surely such an elegant dress will look much better on you, then off."   
Alastor batted back just as slyly, his own grin plastered on his face as he looked to Molly's dress, it being equally as elegant.

"Y'wanna keep lookin'? We still have a couple minutes."  
He explained, quickly checking the time on his phone.  
The feeling in his body was steadily getting stronger, but the clouds in the sky seemed to be slowly moving in. There was still a fair amount of time left.

Molly thought about it for a moment.   
"Oh yeah, there was one more place I wanted ta quickly check in at once were done here. You guys can wait outside and I'll just run in."

Angel gave a nod and started making his way to the front of the shop. The both of them shopped here so frequently that they knew what would fit them.  
"Sure, that ain't a problem."  
He smiled a bit and carefully put his finding on the countertop as he started to fish for his card again.  
"Molls getcher ass over here so I can pay for this stuff."  
He stated, finding what he was looking for not a moment later.

Alastor swiftly waltzed over to the counter, leaning against it with a bit more of a grin than was usually on his face.

"My dear, that won't be necessary."   
He smiled, looking over to the demon at the counter who simply nodded.   
"It's all been paid for by yours truly, no need to thank me."   
And with that, Alastor made his way towards the door again.  
There was no use offering to pay for it all while Angel was around since he knew he'd immediately decline.

Angel's brows furrowed a bit as he looked to Alastor, then one raised before he shrugged as Molly found her way over.  
The clerk put the dresses in separate bags for the twins and handed them off.  
They linked arms and followed Alastor out, Angel taking his hand once again.  
"You're too good for me, Al."  
He smiled and kissed the deer's cheek.

Alastor took Angel's hand as they left the shop, smiling a little at the kiss.   
"Oh, it's nothing really, my dear."   
He nodded, turning to Molly since she'd mentioned wanting to go to one more location.   
"Now, where did you say you wanted to go next? I'm presuming we still have some time before the storm hits?"

Molly nodded, thanking Alastor for buying the dresses.   
"Yeah, I got one more place t'go ta. You two don't have to come in though, it's alright."

"Alright. Al and I will wait outside for ya. Pretty sure we still got time."  
Angel replied, looking up at the sky again.   
The dark clouds were rolling in faster now, holding a red tint to them. That was nothing out of the ordinary.   
It wasn't something he'd worry too much about just yet though, letting his sister guide them to where she wanted to go next.

"Okay!"   
Molly replied, happily guiding the two behind her towards the next store destination, another one that she and Angel had visited before, and yet again another that Alastor would not perhaps like. She figured she'd spare him the embarrassment this time.

"Alright boys, I'll be right back!"   
She called as she pushed the door to the store open, stepping in.

Angel looked at the store for a moment and gave a nod. She was right. Alastor wouldn't be caught dead in there. Standing outside was probably bad enough.   
Then again, no one was out. Sure, it was still early, but there was always some early risers out and about.  
Not today. It was natural that once everyone saw clouds rolling in, they'd stay inside. It was almost equal to exterminations.

"I'm glad ya came with us. Sure, it's only a quick trip but it's still nice to be able to spend time with you and Molly."  
Angel finally spoke, keeping their backs towards the store so Alastor wouldn't have to look at it.

Alastor looked up again to the sky, shaking his head.  
"Yes, it is rather enjoyable spending time with both you and your sister."   
The deer nodded, looking down now at their linked hands.   
"I suppose we should be getting on our way once Molly returns. Don't want to be caught up in the nasty storm."

The arachnid gave a nod, leaning on his lover a bit.   
"I'm gunna get that writing piece sent as soon as we get home. Just to get it over with."  
Angel said, looking down at their intertwined fingers as well.   
He couldn't get enough of Alastor's touch. It had been his new drug since the beginning, but his addiction only intensified when their bond was made.

Alastor nodded, remembering the topic of the writing that Angel had said he was going to create for his magazine.   
"Well, if you need any help, just let me know."   
Offering his lover a content smile, it was then that Molly returned, waving to someone inside the shop.

"Just some words from you would be good I think."  
Angel replied.

"Alright guys, let's get goin'!"   
The sister grinned, holding a small pink bag in her hand as she linked arms with her brother again.

"Well then, I shall provide my input."   
Alastor nodded looking to Molly with a slight smile, presuming that she was finished.

As soon as he heard Molly and linked arms with her, Angel smiled and started walking in the direction they came from back to her abode.  
"Y'got everything?"  
He figured he'd ask, just in case.

"Yep! Got everythin'. Took that whole blue theme into consideration, haha."   
She giggled, swinging the small bag around in one of her arms as they began to make the trip back to her home.

Angel grinned, looking to the bag.   
"I'm sure he's gunna love everything ya got. If not I'll beat his little rabbit ass."  
He added, making sure to keep a quick pace.   
The tingling was getting stronger and more aggressive, having started out as a little tickle but now was like nails jabbing into him repeatedly. He wouldn't show it, but he was really starting to panic, though he wasn't sure why.

Alastor silently walked beside Angel, however his own concern was quickly growing. Not due to the storm, but because he could sense Angel's growing distress. It concerned him, of course.

"Oh, dont'cha worry Rigatoni. I'll hand his ass over to ya if he doesn't like a thing."   
She smiled, knowing already that Stewart would love it.

Angel gave a light chuckle in response. He knew Molly could take care of herself, but he still felt the need to protect her and keep her happy, especially after everything she'd done for him.

As soon as they got back to Molly's place, Angel gathered everything needed for Fat Nuggets and picked the pig up in his lower set of arms.

"I'll see ya tomorrow, assumin' the storm clears up by then."  
He stated before leaving the house again with his pet.

Pressing a kiss to the side of Fat Nuggets' cheek, Molly wished the little pig a goodbye for now.

"Yeah, I'll text ya tonight and I'll see you n' Al tomorrow! Bye now!"   
And with a wave, she closed the door.

Alastor looked across to the pig that was handed over to Angel, raising a brow at the little bow tie it sported.   
"Huh, how classy."   
The deer nodded.

Angel put the care bag over his shoulder before linking arms with Alastor again.  
"Very classy! Now, take us home before we get boiled out here."  
He replied, eyes looking up at the sky again.   
The clouds were blanketing the entire sky now, and any moment it would begin to spit the boiling acidic rain.

Looking up once again at the sky, Alastor nodded. Already could he feel the temperature change compared to earlier.   
"Good idea, my love."   
He agreed, taking Angel's arm.  
"I suppose practicing your teleportation wouldn't be the best of ideas right now."   
He chuckled, knowing what had almost happened the last time Angel practiced.

Angel huffed a laugh of his own and shook his head.  
"Not now, no. Maybe after."

Taking one last look at the sky, a flash of lightning struck the ground in the center of the city, and not even a moment later, a deafeningly loud crack of thunder broke out. 

Alastor was mere milliseconds away from materializing them back home, when the sudden bombardment of both thunder and lightning rang out, Alastor looking up, seeing even darker clouds and now strokes of light. Not only did he know of Angel's fear of storms, but momentarily would the acid rain start to pour- not good. Then, a layer of some sort of thick bluish-white sheet began to climb and cover every surface it touched with loud cracks of noise; spreading across the city.

Normally, Angel found himself freaking out over lightning alone, but the added thunder that was almost immediate to follow and the never before seen sheet of what looked to be ice or frost just made it worse.

The spider's grip on both Alastor and the pig tightened, Fat Nuggets getting spooked by it all as well.  
"Edward, what the fuck is that?!"

The sudden frost that began to cover the streets and buildings of Hell took Alastor by surprise, the deer's eyes widening in shock, smile falling at the sheen of frost and then quickly what looked to be thick ice.

"I- I don't know."   
Alastor responded, completely perplexed.   
"That's- that's not supposed to happen. I don't understand... my dear, we must return home at once. The acid rain may still fall."   
And with an expression of not only confusion but also an extremely unsettled feeling, they had teleported away; only moments before the cold sheet reached their current location.


	23. Frosted Anxiety

As soon as they materialized in the lounge of their home, Angel rushed to push the couch out of the way of the widows and quickly forced the sheer curtains open, eyes wide as the city in the near distance quickly froze over; seeming to start where the lightning had struck due to the large spikes of ice that stood there.

The white frozen sheet drew closer, covering everything in its path. The ice and snow froze over Alastor's home, covering the entire exterior.

As soon as it froze over the window, Angel withdrew his hand and backed away from the window with a hiss of shock. It was cold. This wasn't normal. Even Angel knew that.

Turning to Alastor with wide eyes; expression of clear confusion and worry, and heavy breath that was now visible.  
"What's happening...?"  
He breathed out.  
"Ed, I'm scared..."

This was Hell, a place that had been burning along with its sinners for... well, _forever_. Anything freezing on this scale was absolutely unheard of, or at least Alastor had not seen it in any of the books he'd read about the place they were exiled to for eternity. So _why_ was this happening, _how_ was it happening and how long would it last?   
Those questions irked at the Radio Demon the most as he peered out the window until it froze over, with a frown, no smile present on his face. 

Turning to his lover, still seeing that distress of his, Alastor gently placed his hands on top of the spider's shoulders.

"Listen, my dear."   
He began as calmly as he could, trying not to let his own worry show.   
"I don't know what's happening. I'm not sure if this is the fault of another or something else, but I will find out. There's nothing to worry about for now, yes? The storm will most likely clear in a few hours. As for the ice? I'm not sure; but you're safe, Anthony."

Despite Alastor's fairly calm voice, Angel knew he was freaking out on the inside all thanks to their bond.

Holding the pig closer to himself, the spider set his upper set of hands on Alastor's forearms.   
"Pretty sure everyone noticed by now, but you should alert the city..."  
He stated, feeling his phone start buzzing wildly with notifications. He could hear Alastor's going off as well.

Alert the city. Yes, that was the most important thing as ruler, he supposed. Things could get messy if no one was informed of what was happening. Demons didn't like change, especially certain ones, Alastor knew that.

Taking out his own phone, it wasn't buzzing as much as Angel's, but there were a few confused texts from Molly and only Molly.   
Probably because Alastor hadn't given his number away to anyone other than the twins.

Pulling the device from his pocket, Angel saw that there was a mix of 666 News, Molly, Vox, and a few of his employees.   
His eyes moved over to the window again before he made his way to the front door.   
Grabbing hold of the knob, Angel tried to open it, but the handle didn't move.

"I'm afraid everything out there is frozen over, my dear. There's no use going out unless you'd like to look like an eight-foot icicle."

"What do we do?"  
Angel did his best to keep himself together as he backed away from the door.   
His body was shaking from fear before, but now there was the cold only adding to that.  
The arachnid's upper set of hands moved up to run through his hair in an attempt to ground himself and reduce his anxiety by even a pinch.

"I knew somethin' was coming but I didn't know it'd be this bad..."  
He stated to himself as his back pressed against the wall in the hallway.   
Angel's eyes couldn't focus on anything, his breathing becoming uneven and rugged.  
He couldn't focus his thoughts, everything in his head now a hazy blur from the anxiety.

The temperature had decreased immensely in the span of a couple of moments, Alastor even shivering a little.   
Snapping his fingers, the fire in the fireplace immediately set alight, slowly beginning to heat the room.

There were many things the Radio Demon had to do at that moment, however, his number one priority was standing in the hallway, anxious and scared.   
Making his way over to his lover, Alastor took his hand.

As soon as their hands made contact, their rings lit up and sent relief into both of their cores as their souls reassured each other that they were together and neither of them was injured or harmed.

"Come sit by the fire, we don't know how long this is going to be, so the most important thing right now is to keep warm."   
He nodded, slowly leading Angel through the lounge.

Angel's focus landed on his lover and stayed there as he exhaled. The cloud that left his lips was long and steady as it slowly disappeared into nothingness.   
The spider let himself be guided, though his eyes stayed on Alastor. The mere sight of him brought its own relief.

"I'm scared, Edward..."  
Angel whispered over the crackling fire in the hearth now just in front of them.

"I know..."   
The deer nodded, guiding his lover to sit down in front of the fire, the deer sitting beside him and summoning a blanket for the spider. 

Slowly lowering himself into a kneeling position in front of the fire, the spider leaned against his lover and set his shivering pet on his lap.

"I promise, there's nothing to be scared of. Maybe this is all simply another demon's doing. Disasters have happened down here due to another's foolish actions before."  
Truthfully, Alastor hoped that was what had happened, however deep down, he feared that wasn't the case at all. There was something else. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Angel grabbed the bag of Fat Nuggets' supplies and pulled out the blanket for it, wrapping the shaking animal up with the material before cradling it in his lower set of arms again.

"It's okay, Nuggets... Daddy's gotcha..."  
Angel whispered as he comforted the animal, leaning against Alastor and brought the blanket around him as well.  
  
"Ya gotta make a broadcast... tell everyone to stay inside-"  
Angel stated as he watched the fire dance.  
"We gotta figure out how far the ice goes... fuck... the death rate is gunna be insane..."  
The spider sighed, closing his eyes as he tried to pull his thoughts back in order.

Alastor brought an arm around his lover, keeping him close and warm, looking down at the pig before nodding.   
"Yes, I shall inform Hell to stay in, unless freezing to their second deaths is something they wish. My dear, the death rate down here is constantly rising each day. It already is, as you put it, 'insane'."   
He explained, leaning across to press a kiss to Angel's cheek.  
"I do not feel sorry for the fools down here, I will simply inform them all of what's happening while trying to find that out for myself. I hope this is simply something that will pass."

"What if it doesn't? What if... this is how Hell's gunna be from now on? Obviously we're gunna get used to it but..."  
Angel stopped with a sigh, recollecting himself once again.

"Everything... will be fine."  
The spider told himself after a deep breath.  
"Just... do the broadcast. I'll help if ya need me to."  
His eyes moved towards the deer.

Placing a hand to Angel's shoulder, Alastor gave it a reassuring pat.   
"I can't imagine that a place called Hell, which has been depicted as a place for sinners to _burn_ after death for centuries, is going to stay ice cold from now on. It doesn't just change like that, my love. Worry not."  
But yes, Angel was right. The sooner this broadcast happened, the better.   
"Everything will be fine."  
Summoning his microphone, Alastor snapped his fingers, static beginning to rise in volume as he began to broadcast to the entirety of Hell.

Angel stayed silent. There was too much going on in his mind. He didn't care about a large majority of the population. Only the ones he associated with. The ones he was close to. The ones he worked with.   
Of course, Molly and Alastor were at the very top of his list.

Pulling his phone out, Angel started quietly typing a message to his sister. He knew she was okay because she was texting him a few moments ago in a panic, but she didn't know _he_ was okay.   
Next was to Vox and his employees, telling them to stand by and wait for further instruction.

While Angel was messaging presumably Molly and the studios, Alastor made his announcement to Hell, keeping it sweet and short, not being able to go into too many details because, well, he didn't know any himself yet. There would no doubt be contact from the news stations, wanting the Radio Demon's presence to reassure Hell's citizens, but that was all in due time.

Finishing up his broadcast with a cheerful goodbye, Alastor put his microphone away with a long sigh, resting his head tiredly upon Angel's.  
"There's going to be a lot of questions and most probably backlash from this whole situation." He breathed out.

The arachnid continued to stare into the fire, leaning into the contact.  
"We'll be fine... as long as you and I stay together, we'll get through whatever this is..."  
He replied with a soft voice despite his frantic thoughts.

Alastor waved a hand across the fire, noticing that Angel was staring at it, small shapes forming amongst the orange flames.

"It hopefully won't be too long... but you're right, my dear. Together is much better than alone. After all, our promise to each other was to stay together."   
He spoke with a small smile, looking down at his ring as he said that, rubbing a thumb over the smooth surface of Angel's soul stone.

Angel gave a nod, the corners of his mouth turning upwards slightly as Alastor made direct contact with the stone, feeling the comfort within himself as well.

His eyes shifted to look at his lover, the worry slowly subsiding.  
"Best thing I ever did."  
He sighed, closing his eyes as he relaxed a bit further.

The fire was slowly warming things up in the room, as well as their combined body heat and the blankets.   
"Mhm yes, very true. I will say, it was one of the wisest decisions I have ever made too."   
Alastor nodded.

There were of course other decisions relating to their relationship that Alastor counted as some of the better decisions, such as the second time they went to Earth, and simply confessing to Angel in the first place. But there were also regrets- the whole thing with Valentino for one, but Alastor wouldn't think about those now.

Naturally with every partnership there would be good and bad decisions made on both sides.  
Angel was no exception. He knew he had made some good decisions as well as bad.   
None of it mattered now though. There was no point in dwelling on the negatives.   
It all got them to where they were; and where they were now was perfect.

Angel's head turned to face the Radio Demon, a hand raising to cup his cheek. He said nothing, unsure of what to say in the first place.

Alastor huffed a laugh as Angel cupped his cheek, the two of them sitting in comfortable silence for a few moments.   
"Imagine what would have happened if you did that before all of this."  
He chuckled, knowing that he was repulsed at even Angel's mere touch before they'd established even some sort of friendship of sorts.   
"I would have near bitten your head off."

Angel's smile seemed to widen a bit, remembering their beginning well.  
"We've come a long way since then..."  
He whispered as his hand started to move down to the deer's chest, his eyes simply following it as it trailed the center; where the important scar was.

Of course, Angel still didn't know the true origins of all of the others, so by this time he assumed that they were inflicted by Lucifer when the two of them were together.   
He wasn't going to ask about it and confirm though, in fear that it was a sensitive topic. Angel knew that Alastor would open up about them if and when he was ready.

Alastor looked down at Angel's hand as he trailed down his chest, smiling when he stopped at where he knew the large scar was at the center of his chest. The day they became bound.

"One of many, yet the most important by far."   
He chuckled, referring to all the scars his body had- a story that had yet to be told to Angel.

Alastor had thought about telling Angel multiple times, however never really felt the need to. The spider only asked once, and at that point, they weren't as close as they currently were.

"And they're all perfect."  
Angel replied softly, leaning down to gently kiss the center scar from over the fabric of his lover's shirt before resting his cheek against it, eyes looking into the fire again.

The spider could only wish he had the teleportation ability down so he'd be able to go check on his sister and the studios himself. Alastor would be busy trying to figure out the cause of the sudden plummet in temperature and how long it would last, so he wouldn't want to distract him from it.

Alastor held Angel in a close hold against his chest, keeping the heat between the two of them.  
"Why, I wouldn't call them all perfect."   
He chuckled.  
"However I know there's no arguing with you when it comes to my so-called 'perfection'."  
If it weren't for this sudden strange weather, then Alastor would be completely relaxed right now- however there was that nagging worry at the back of his mind about this whole situation. Something still wasn't right.

Angel could feel this too. He could feel it all. He could feel Alastor's uneasiness and he could feel that something was out of place...

The spider's upper set of hands clung to the deer's coat as the lower set continued to hold and cuddle the pig.

"You should probably get to work in figuring this mess out..."  
He didn't want to let go, but he knew that the sooner action was taken, the sooner it might be over and everything would return to how it was.

With a nod, Alastor slowly stood up from the floor, gently kissing his lover's forehead as he did so.   
"You're right. I shall be back shortly, you should keep warm my love."  
After all, no one had any sort of heating systems down in Hell- it wasn't needed, so fire was one of the few sources of heat it seemed currently.

"I'll be down in the basement if you need me. Oh and Anthony, perhaps later you can show me that dress you got today? It looked swell from what I saw."

Angel straightened up as Alastor retracted, a smile on his face at the kiss.  
Looking up at the deer, he gave a small nod, smile growing at his request. He didn't think it really mattered to Alastor in the first place, so hearing that he _wanted_ to see the dress on him was endearing and heartwarming.

"Whatever you want, babe. Lemme know if ya find anything or need help."  
Angel spoke, looking up at his the deer.

It wasn't often he saw Alastor from this angle. It did remind him of the events of Valentino's first downfall, though.   
The way Alastor strongly held himself in front of Angel, who was cowering and curled up on the floor just behind the Radio Demon.

Alastor, for a couple of moments more, simply gazed down at Angel with a soft smile before finally speaking up.   
"Alright. If you need anything either, you know where I'll be."   
And with that, Alastor had gone. Once down in the basement, the Radio Demon immediately gravitated over towards the large archive like bookshelves, needing to find out some more information it seemed. Hopefully he would.

Angel kept his eyes on the deer until he the moment he vanished, looking down at the pig in his lap now. It seemed to be warm enough and calm; possibly even sleeping.

Looking to the window again, ice and snow still covered it which blocked nearly all potential light from entering the inside of the house.   
Carefully moving the pig out of his lap and on the floor next to him, Angel slowly stood and walked over to the window; keeping the blanket wrapped around himself.   
It still worried him to no end.

The spider's phone began to buzz again. Pulling it from his pocket, he saw 666 News trying to call him. It was probably so Alastor could be interviewed.

He answered the call and listened to whatever had to be said and asked.   
"We ain't got answers yet, but I'll get Alastor to call ya back with any information and set somethin' up. Shouldn't be too long. Just stay inside unless y'wanna freeze your sad little asses off."  
With that, he hung up. He'd wait for his lover to come back up before telling him. Any distractions would only make the wait longer.

Alastor was down in the basement for a fair amount of time, frantically yet methodically searching through some of his oldest books for any signs of this sudden ice age of Hell having happened before. And eventually Alastor's conclusion was rather upsetting. There hadn't been even a singular word that related to Hell's current state of cold.

Of course, there were many books that Alastor did not possess that could very well hold the answers, however, he doubted that. This still set him on edge. Something he hadn't felt in a while. Eventually though, the deer teleported himself back up to to the lounge of the house, rather annoyed at his lack of findings, yet still staying calm as always.

Angel was still at the window when Alastor came up, sitting on the couch with his knees to his chest, cheek on them, and eyes closed.   
When he heard Alastor's radio static in the room, his head slowly lifted and eyes opened.

"Didja find anything?"  
He asked softly, holding his hand out to his lover, wanting him to sit and be close.

Alastor sighed tiredly, walking himself over to the couch and taking Angel's hand, scooting up on the couch beside him.

"Nothing."   
He slowly spoke, wrapping an arm around Angel now.  
"Granted, I did not search every book down there. Also, there will be other books around that I do not currently have, that may have information- however I highly doubt it. So far? There has been nothing on this icy change. Which is both concerning and rather interesting."

The spider gave a slow nod of understanding, leaning against the deer as he looked to the sleeping pig that was still on the floor by the fireplace.

"The news station wants to set somethin' up with ya. Just for answers."  
The spider mentioned.  
"Even if y'ain't got any, they still wanna get your opinion and statements."

Speaking of statements, their announcement article didn't look like it was going to happen until after this mess was cleared up.   
Not that it mattered right now. It just gave Angel more time to edit it and make it perfect.

Alastor had a feeling that the news would be attempting to contact him soon. Broadcasts were all well and good, however, Alastor knew that for reassurance, he would have to appear upon the 666 news at some point.

"Will you join me?"   
Alastor eventually asked, looking over at Angel. They were together in this, after all. And surely, having an overlord and their king on the news was bound to be all the more reassuring.  
"Between now and then, I shall try and find at least _something_ on this. _Anything_."

Taking the Radio Demon's hand in his own and locking their fingers, Angel gave a smile.  
"Your question is invalid. My answer is always gunna be yes."

It was probably best that Angel go with him. Being the owner of one of the largest industries in Hell, he knew that a lot of the denizens wouldn't watch anything unless it had anything to do with porn; even if it was just Angel talking about something, more would tune in even for a minute.

"If I can help figure some stuff out, y'know I'll be happy to."  
The spider's eyes trailed up to Alastor's.

Alastor knew that even having Angel on the news with him, was a huge plus. Not everyone did watch 666 news, but if word that the famous Angel Dust was going to be speaking on it, then no doubt the ratings would be significantly higher.

"I know... god, I love you so much, Anthony."   
Alastor chuckled, truly not believing sometimes that this was all real. That he was so lucky as to have someone like Anthony in his life, despite all of the wrongdoings Alastor had gone through both in his life and death.

Angel smiled a little more, wrapping a free arm around Alastor.  
"Y'know I love you too. More than words can even begin to say."

Bringing his phone out of his pocket, Angel checked the time and gave a small sigh before unlocking the device.  
"When didja wanna set that interview up?"  
He asked, opening his calendar and looking at all of the things he'd probably have to postpone due to this suddenly drastic event.

Humming to himself, Alastor pulled out his own phone, looking through the previous messages from Molly.   
"Perhaps tomorrow morning? The sooner, the better."   
He nodded, slowly beginning to message Molly back.

Once he'd sent the message, Alastor placed his phone to the side, glancing over Angel's shoulder at the calendar that was up on his device.   
"My, that's quite the schedule you have there, my dear."   
He chuckled.

"And it's gunna get crazier if this shit storm doesn't clear up..."  
The spider sighed in reply, pulling up the current day and scrolled through the next week, showing nothing was scheduled.

"This ain't what I had in mind when I finally finished all the work. Then again, I guess I can't really complain. I'm still with you and that's how I was gunna spend it anyways."  
Setting the phone aside, Angel cuddled into his lover a little more with a content hum. He'd wait a bit before setting the interview up.

"Well my dear, look on the bright side. Once it is all cleared again, which I have no doubts that it will be soon, your schedule will be back to normal."   
He reassured, knowing that with running the studios, came a lot of pressure.  
"You also have your pig for the next two weeks, so try and relax with it while you can, hm? If anything needs doing around here, leave it to me."

Angel looked to Fat Nuggets and gave a small nod, then the bag that contained his new dress caught his attention.  
"Think ya might have some free time tonight? From your research and whatever, I mean."  
He looked to the deer again with a raised brow.

Alastor smiled and gave a nod.   
"I may have a lot to do if I'm to find an explanation to all of this, but Anthony, I will always have time for you."   
There were many books and articles, hell, Alastor was even willing to use his phone to research information needed, but making time for his lover was something he'd always be able to do first. Anthony was his number one priority.

Angel knew this too, but he wasn't going to make a demand when he knew Alastor had a lot to handle. He definitely didn't want to add to the pile.

"I have a proposition then. You go downstairs and do your work while I put somethin' together. When I call ya, go right upstairs, put that new suit on and meet me in the dining room."

Alastor raised a brow at Angel's words, a small smile creeping up his face.   
"Why, that sounds like an excellent idea."   
He then smiled widely, eyes filled with pure fondness.  
"I shall truly try and find some information that can help us."   
The deer nodded, slowly sitting up from his position on the couch, letting go of Angel's hand.

Angel took Alastor's hand again to regain his full attention.  
"Before you go, pick a number between one and three."  
He instructed simply, deciding not to give any context.

Looking back over his shoulder as his hand was taken, Alastor paused for a moment in thought.   
"Three."   
He chose, knowing that Angel had planned something- he always loved it when the arachnid did.

The spider gave a nod and kissed his lover's hand before letting go with a smile.  
"Okay. Three it'll be."  
With that, he stood as well and gave Alastor's cheek a kiss before grabbing his bag and made his way towards the stairs to start preparing.

After the kiss was placed to his cheek and Angel had stood, Alastor had materialized himself down into the basement, not wasting a single second in searching through the many books he possessed.   
It was going to be a long while before he found anything, he knew.


	24. Make The Most Of It

Angel spent the next few hours preparing for their first proper date night since a few months prior.   
Now that all of that paperwork and such was organized and figured out, they'd be able to have their date nights regularly. Of course, this time they'd have to stay in, but that was perfectly fine with Angel.

Making a few final touches and feeding the pig so it would be happy too and give them their bit of space, Angel picked up his phone and sent Alastor the text.

_Ur suit is in the spare room. Don't go to our room yet or I'll actually kill u! >:( _   
_Love u tho ;)_

For Alastor, the next few hours fled by, and as expected, the information gained was sadly next to nothing. Many books now littered Alastor's working space down in the basement, discarded due to the lack of information they held on the current disaster at hand.

When his phone buzzed, Alastor snapped his fingers, the device appearing in his hand as he adjusted his monocle to read the message that was displayed on the screen.   
Texting back, in his usual format of text, a reply to his lover, Alastor materialized up to the spare room, fairly excited for what sounded like a date night.

Once in the room, Alastor picked up the suit that was hung up neatly next to the closet and began to change.

Angel checked the text and smiled warmly, finishing with lighting the candles that were set in the middle of the table and made sure the table was properly set as he placed their meal down.

He knew Alastor wouldn't be too long, so he double-checked his attire was in order; smoothing out the satin fabric of his new dress to make sure it flowed properly, made sure his makeup was perfectly done, and his Monroe styled hair was flawless.

As soon as he heard Alastor coming down the stairs, the spider's stomach knotted in almost nervous excitement even though they've been together for well over two years. He still got butterflies when they had their special evenings like this.

Alastor made sure that his appearance was as good as it could have been, not a hair on his head out of place as he walked down the stairs, already being able to smell something delicious coming from the kitchen.

As he took the last stair, turning to his right towards the dining room and met with candlelight, Alastor could only smile. Angel had really made an effort, and wow, did his lover look beautiful.   
"Anthony... I'm honestly speechless. This and _you_ are quite flawless."   
He smiled, taking in the spider's elegant appearance as well as the new satin dress that hugged his figure.   
"Your beauty never fails to amaze me. Thank you."

The spider's smile only grew as he stepped closer to the Radio Demon, the skirt of his dress moving with his legs underneath.

"Lookin' dapper as always."  
Angel replied, the upper set of hands moving up to the deer's tie to adjust it a bit even though it was perfectly placed already.   
His lower set of hands found Alastor's and brought him to the table, placing a kiss to his lips.  
"I'm glad you like it though."

Alastor sweetly kissed back, reaching a hand up to brush a strand of the spider's equally as elegant hair out of his face.   
"I love it. Everything about this."   
Taking a seat, Alastor looked down at the delicious plate of food that was before the both of them.

"I admit it's rare that we do have a date night shall we say, but this, Anthony, is by far the best one yet. I appreciate the effort you've put into this, my love."

Angel sat himself down as well, his smile still very wide and full of happiness. Hearing Alastor say these things just made it all even better.  
"Well, I would've done more but-"  
He gave a small gesture to outside.  
"-either way, I'm glad you like it, Eddie."

"This is perfect, Anthony. Nothing more would have made it any more so."   
Alastor nodded.

Angel picked up his fork and was about to start eating when he remembered something.  
Quickly excusing himself, he went into the kitchen, opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle, and returned to the table.  
"Can't believe I almost forgot this."

The deer watched as Angel excused himself and quickly returned with a bottle of what looked to be expensive champagne.   
"Hm, very classy."   
Alastor chuckled, that genuine warm smile never leaving his face.  
"I said it a moment ago, but Anthony you've truly outdone yourself with this date. It's wonderful."

Angel carefully opened the bottle and began pouring the sparkling beverage into their glasses with a hum.

"Well, first real date in a real long time calls for the best."  
He replied, setting the bottle down on the table before picking up his glass to make a toast.  
"And your manifestation day too."

Alastor raised his glass as Angel did, however, paused upon hearing what the toast was for. Brows furrowing, the deer had to think about that for a moment, before eventually settling on yes. That was the date. But still...  
"How did you know?"   
He asked, somewhat surprised that it was brought up. If he was being completely honest, then he'd forgotten that it was even today. It wasn't like Alastor necessarily celebrated it.   
"I've never told anyone."

Angel's glass lowered ever so slightly at Alastor's reaction. He didn't know what he was expecting, but the reaction given made him worry a bit.

"Your... shadow told me. I'm sorry if it's a sensitive topic; I know it is for a lotta folks down here."  
It was clear that Angel hadn't thought this through. He didn't even celebrate his own, so why would the Radio Demon celebrate his?

Alastor then raised a brow, turning around to see his shadow upon the wall behind him, narrowing his eyes.   
"Yes, well truth be told, I had forgotten about it. I don't even know why it thought it necessary to tell you since it's rather a useless celebration."   
Alastor hummed, lowering the glass from the toast and instead taking a sip.   
"It's not a sensitive topic, just one that I don't really care for."

The shadow simply gave a shrug before taking its leave.

Angel's eyes stayed on Alastor but raised his glass again despite the sinking feeling in his chest.  
"Well, in that case, just to a proper date night."  
He smiled softly, taking a sip of his own drink too before setting the flute down and picked up his fork.

Alastor could sense that Angel was feeling perhaps a little sunken at the backfired toast, so he decided to reassure him even a little.

"Anthony, you had no way of knowing that I didn't care for the date today. It's the shadow's fault for bringing it up in the first place."   
He stated simply before taking another sip of the drink.   
"But on another note, this meal looks excellent my dear!"

The spider simply smiled with a nod.  
"Believe it or not, this is actually all from the living world. Had someone go up and get everything."  
Stabbing a piece of the tender meat, Angel took the first bite.  
"Classic brut champagne, roast beef, everything. Been wantin' to make somethin' like this for a long while now but never had the time."

Alastor grinned as he heard that all of the ingredients were from Earth, nodding as he picked up the cutlery and cut into the meat.   
"Why, I'm certainly impressed Anthony. This is positively divine."   
He smiled, not wasting a second to dig into the meal.

"We're gunna have a lot more meals like this, just you wait."  
Angel replied with a grin, happy to see Alastor enjoying what he'd made.

The majority of their meal was in comfortable silence with the ambiance of the crackling fire in the lounge and occasional wind from outside.   
The house had warmed up quite a lot and nothing aside from how dark it was inside the home was much different than how it normally was.

As for Alastor, he finished his meal quite quickly, enjoying everything about it.   
It was just the two of them in the candlelight of the room, enjoying their meal together. A date night that Alastor couldn't have asked more from.

"That was very nice, my dear."   
Alastor eventually spoke up, picking up the last of his champagne and sipping at it.

Angel took his last few bites, a smile on his face at all times. Setting his cutlery down in a closed position on his plate, the spider picked up his glass and leaned forward a bit.

"Glad ya liked it."  
Angel would have prepared something for dessert, but he knew that Alastor wasn't fond of anything sweet nor was he good with pastries or baking in general.

Taking the last sip of champagne, Angel set his glass down again.  
"Ready to move to phase two?"

After seeing that Angel had finished with his plate, Alastor simply snapped his fingers, saving both of them any trouble of having to clear anything away.

"Phase two?"   
He asked, curious to see what else Angel had in store for their little date night.   
"I'm rather intrigued."

Angel's smile widened, gathering the skirt of his dress a bit so he wouldn't trip with his lower set of hands as he stood.  
"Phase two!"  
He repeated, making his way to the lounge, where he made sure there was enough room for their next activity, Fat Nuggets situated on one of the armchairs.  
He carefully set up the gramophone and lowered the needle onto the record. A song the spider knew Alastor would be familiar with started to play.

Alastor slowly followed behind his lover into the lounge, standing as he watched the spider setting up the gramophone, some grainy sound emitting before the song soon started; and from the tune alone, Alastor could already recognize the song.

He smiled and stepped forwards, taking Angel's waist, one of his hands, and then began to dance.

Angel wrapped one of his upper set of arms around the deer's neck and held his hand as the lower set held his skirt, his smile only grew as they danced along to the music with the fire roaring in the hearth in the background; their shadows dancing along the walls as well.

"You're still a fabulous dancer even after all this time."  
Angel spoke up.

Alastor hummed along to the music, a wide smile upon his face as he led Angel into the steps.   
"It's similar to learning an instrument. Once you learn it, you never forget."

Lifting the arm that their hands were joined at, Alastor prompted Angel into a spin, the bottom of the spider's dress flaring out elegantly as he spun.

He couldn't help but giggle a bit, his arm finding its place around the deer's neck again, keeping close to him.  
"Guess you're right."  
Angel smiled, mismatched eyes gazing into his lover's in the dim lighting.   
All that was wrong outside of the house was forgotten for the time being as they continued their dancing and singing.

"I could say the same about you."   
Alastor smiled, still leading the steps to the rhythm of the song, not taking his eyes off of his lover.   
"You're quite the elegant dancer yourself."

This song in particular was one that Alastor knew well, and while he may have first heard it towards the end of his life, it was still a good tune.

"Why, thank you, il mio amore!"  
The spider grinned, humming along to the music as he leaned forward a bit, gently holding their foreheads together.  
"Y'know... if someone came up to me three years ago and told me where I'd be today, I'd laugh in their face and tell 'em t'lay off the drugs."  
The spider chuckled to himself.

Alastor too chuckled at the spider's words, nodding.   
"I'd disregard their words completely before telling them to please leave me alone unless they wanted something very unfortunate to happen to them."   
And that was the truth.   
Everything that had happened, in the face of eternity, had happened so fast that it was almost too much for Alastor to believe at times. However, Angel was evidence enough that this had happened and something amazing had been the result.

"I believe you with everything I am."  
The spider smiled, softly bringing their lips together in a quick yet sweet kiss.

As Angel pulled him in for the kiss, the final verse of the song was playing, Alastor singing along to the last lyrics as they pulled back, staring lovingly into the spider's eyes.   
"But I've got a feelin' I'm fallin'. Fallin' for nobody else but you."

The arachnid smiled as his lover sang the last verse before the song faded out, then remembering something of importance.  
"Oh, I set up the interview for ten tomorrow morning. How's that work for you?"  
Angel knew that the time would be fine with the Radio Demon, but asked anyway just to hear him talk again.   
As it had been recorded many times in the past, he loved listening to Alastor talk. He was often tempted to hand him a manual for something and have the deer read it to him.

And with that, the song came to an end, and the next song playing shortly after, Alastor nodding with a small smile at Angel's words.   
"Why yes, ten tomorrow sounds excellent."

With a small nod, Angel continued to follow Alastor's lead into the next tune, deciding to sing along.  
"Someday he'll come along, the man I love... and he'll be big and strong. The man I love... and when he comes my way, I'll do my best to make him stay..."

Alastor couldn't help but laugh, pulling Angel a little closer to him, slowing their steps into something more of a sway as Angel began to sing along.  
As much as Alastor enjoyed quietly humming along to the melody of tunes, he loved the way Angel sang to those tunes as well. So soft.

Angel stayed close to the deer, continuing to sing as they swayed together, the skirt of his dress flowing and swaying along with them.  
"He'll look at me and smile... I'll understand; and in a little while... he'll take my hand... and though it seems absurd... I know we both won't say a word..."

Raising the hand that was positioned on Angel's waist up to his cheek, Alastor gently cupped it, brushing some more pieces of his hair out of his face; looking up at Angel and smiling indeed.

"Maybe I shall meet him Sunday... maybe Monday, maybe not. Still, I'm sure to meet him one day, maybe Tuesday will be my good news day."   
Singing the next lines in a whisper, Alastor brought that hand to Angel's waist once again, leaning and tilting his head down to rest against the others.

Angel's own smile widened, his lower set of hands let go of the skirt and snaked around his lover's waist. He stayed silent, needing a moment or two to collect himself.

He loved this man more than anything, and to know that he loved him back just as much really pulled at his heartstrings. He was finally happy and at peace. He'd forgiven everything that happened to him and accepted that nothing that happened in the past was his fault. None of it mattered anymore.   
Anthony was finally happy.

The deer smiled, leaning into the arms that wrapped around his waist as they continued to lazily sway.

"I love you Anthony..."   
he eventually said, the next song coming to an end, the static of the track sounding out before coming to an eventual stop.

For a while, Alastor stayed simply holding Angel in the silence, the slight crackling of the fire filling the room.


	25. Chilling Interview

Of what remained of their date that evening, it was a wonderful night that they'd shared together, filled with the love and passion that the two demons shared for each other. The meal had been delectable in Alastor's opinion, and the dancing- that had been even more wonderful if the deer did say so.

The next morning, with the interview scheduled for ten, Alastor was up early, getting himself ready to be shown on the television, waking Angel up shortly after he was up.

Of course the arachnid took quite some time to fully wake up and get himself ready, the previous night having been filled with intense physical activity.   
No, it may not have been ideal with the newly developed crisis on their hands, but they still wanted to have that time together.   
With those events, Alastor was distracted from finding any new evidence or forming new theories about the cause of the sudden ice age.

It didn't take the two of them long, and in no time at all, still with enough time before ten, they were ready to head to the news station studios.

Angel got himself ready and made sure Fat Nuggets was safe and cozy by the fire before joining his lover by the door.  
"All set?"  
He asked as he made sure the Radio Demon's outfit was straight and proper.

It was cold outside, that was a given, however, they wouldn't be outside for long.   
"Yes my dear, I am ready as I'll ever be. Are you?"   
Looking Angel up and down once or twice, Alastor smiled, seeing Angel's now iconic overlord attire accompanied by Valentino's former coat upon his lover's shoulders.   
"We don't need to say too much. Just enough to reassure everyone again. And then, we shall announce the two of us, yes?"

The arachnid gave a nod as he brushed Alastor's shoulders a bit.   
"I'm sure we'll be fine."  
He then placed a kiss to the deer's lips before linking arms with him, signaling his readiness for their teleportation as he put the heart-shaped glasses on top of his head for now.

"Hopefully we find somethin' of use today."  
Angel added.

Snapping his fingers, the deer's microphone appeared in his hand, Alastor tapping it on the floor a couple of times as he and Angel linked arms; and within no time at all, the two of them were outside of the news studios in the blistering cold, the street ground completely frozen beneath them, barely any demon out in sight.

"Why, it certainly is cold."   
Alastor huffed, looking up at the lit building, the news recording room near the very top.

The coat that hung off of Angel's frame blew about in the frozen wind, the shock of the sudden temperature change causing him to shiver immediately.

"Colder than 1934, holy shit!"  
Angel exclaimed, referring to the coldest day recorded in New York history; a day he'd never be able to forget for many reasons.

The spider started pulling Alastor towards the doors, flinging them open and into the warmer building.   
"Y'couldn't've made sure we were inside? Jesus-"  
He sighed, brushing some of the snow off of himself and then Alastor before rubbing his hands together.

Alastor simply chuckled, being dragged along inside of the building, the doors closing behind them, keeping the warmth in.   
"Well, I quite like looking up at the buildings I'm about to enter."

Taking Angel's arm once again, the two of them headed through the next set of doors that led to the lobby of the news studios. Of course, the demon working there recognized them immediately, sending them up to the top floor of the building up through the elevator.

Angel knew the layout of this place well and barely waited to be told to go ahead. He knew they were welcome, and even if they weren't, Alastor had the privilege to do as he pleased. No one would dare stand in his way.

"Even in negative degree temperatures? Geez, y'really are insane."  
The spider replied with a chuckle and raised a brow as they entered the elevator and hit the desired button.

"Insanity is a part of the fun my dear! Surely you know that!"   
Alastor wasn't usually one for tv appearances, given his preference for radio, however, occasionally had he made his fair share of appearances over the past two years.

Once in the elevator, Alastor was silent, one arm linked with Angel's, the other holding his microphone still as they went up to the top level.

Angel wrapped another arm around the Radio Demon's waist, kissing his cheek before they got to their floor.  
"'Course I know that. It's one of the many things I love aboutcha."  
The spider replied.

Alastor chuckled in response to the kiss, leaning into it a little, his usual intimidating smile wide upon his face the moment the elevator doors opened to a hallway.

Angel stepped out and made his way to the room he was told to go to the night before.   
Opening the door, they were greeted with bustling demons, preparing the set, and making sure everything was in order.

Upon stepping into the room that was famous for holding the well-known interviews and controversial stories of the 666 news station, Alastor looked around, a demon waving them down and immediately showing the both of them somewhere to sit down while they waited to go on air.

Angel took a seat on the sofa with a small sigh as a smaller demon scurried over with a cup of coffee for each of the overlords, which the spider was quick to accept. The beverage would help him keep him both awake and warm.

"The interview will start in about fifteen minutes."  
The demon told Alastor with a bow of their head.

Alastor sat himself down beside Angel on the couch, staying close as he was handed some coffee in a mug with a little 666 news logo on the front.

"Fifteen minutes."   
Alastor repeated, looking over to his lover.  
"Do you know what you're going to say in regards to us? I have a planned section for the sudden frost."   
He explained quietly, watching as the demons around them scrambled around to get everything ready, the famous Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench still not on the news set yet.

Angel crossed a leg over the other and sipped from the cup as he thought for a moment.  
"Not a clue. I dunno if we should bring it up ourselves. It ain't really a priority for everyone to know right now."  
The spider shrugged, looking to his lover.   
"Though I got a feelin' it's gunna be brought up seein' as these assholes like to pry into everything they find."

"Yes, the priority right now is most certainly the strange weather, haha."   
Alastor laughed, taking a sip at his drink, looking down at his hand as he did so, the ring on his finger glinting in the bright light of the news studio.   
"With these rings on, I can't imagine it will be very long before they start asking questions."

Any interviews that Alastor had participated in during the last two years had been separate to Angel, therefore the pairing of their rings not as noticeable. So here as they were together, the deer was sure that it was going to be brought up, even if that was not what they were here to say today.

"Whatever questions they've got, I'm sure we'll be able to answer easily."  
The arachnid replied with a smile, taking another sip of coffee as he leaned back into the couch with his lower set of arms resting on his stomach.

If he was honest, he was a tad nervous. This room wasn't one he was exactly happy with being in. It was the same one his interview with Valentino was in. It made him a bit uneasy even though he knew the roach was dead. It was the same thing with the nightmares. All irrational.

Alastor could somewhat sense Angel's nervousness being in this situation, and while he himself only got a glimpse of the interview Angel had been in with Valentino all that time ago, he knew that Angel had been apart of other interviews here even before that.

Looking across at his lover, Alastor gave him a small nod of reassurance, knowing that if he suddenly started cuddling Angel, they'd be getting a ton of odd stares. Not to mention reputation-wise, he did have a certain image to hold up here in regards to his ruthlessness. 

The spider gave a nod in return and quickly finished his coffee, setting the cup down on the coffee table in front of him before relaxing into the couch again.   
He knew Alastor wasn't able to properly comfort him in this setting and he understood completely. Hell wasn't a place to show any hint of softness.  
Either way, everything was fine and Angel knew he was safe. 

A few minutes passed and the two news anchors entered the set, Katie putting a cigarette out on some demon's shoulder that she happened to pass.   
Angel straightened up and took a breath.

During those next few minutes, both Alastor and Angel sat in near silence, only making light conversation in between sips of drink.

The moment that the two anchors walked into the room, Alastor stood from the couch, placing his mug of unfinished coffee to the side and looked to Angel. They'd no doubt be on air in a few short moments.   
"Come on my dear, the quicker this is done, the quicker we can go."   
He whispered.

Angel stood as well and gave a nod to his lover's words. The interview itself shouldn't take long, assuming they knew that Alastor had work to do in finding answers.

The more Angel looked around, the more he noticed more looks the two of them were getting, quite a few demons turning to one another and making comments of whatever sort. It took a lot for him not to take Alastor's hand just to hold for comfort, instead fiddling with the ring on his finger a bit as they moved to sit on the set where everything was already set up.

Alastor did take note of the few looks of confusion and quiet whispers of comments that were circulating around the room as he and Angel moved to take their seats on the set, however, he didn't say anything about them for now. 

Glancing down slightly, Alastor could see the way that Angel somewhat nervously fiddled with the ring on his finger, and it too took Alastor everything within him not to comfort his lover at that moment.

Soon, sure enough, the two anchors were taking their seats at the desk on set, looking over to both Alastor and Angel.

Katie held her usual almost forced smile and Tom simply sat down, expression unclear due to the mask he wore; both looking to their guests.

Angel took a few breaths to calm himself. He'd been here plenty of times before and knew how this worked. He could handle this. Alastor was here so nothing bad was going to happen.

It wasn't long before the countdown from five began just before the live interview was to start. The red light on the camera lit up and Katie sprung to life, her neck snapping towards the camera.

"Good morning, scum of the world!"  
She cheerfully began.  
"We have two of Hell's most renowned overlords with us this morning to hopefully explain what's been happening out there since yesterday! Alastor, our king and ruthless ruler, do you have anything you'd like to start us off with?"

Alastor looked to Katie as soon as the interview became live, his smile wider than ever, eyes glowing their deep scarlet color now that he was in front of an audience.   
After she had spoken and introduced them, Alastor piped up in his usual cheery and animated manner.

"Haha, why yes, thank you! Now, I am very much aware of the current situation down here in this usually _burning_ cesspit, and I know that it is perhaps inconvenient for many of you sinners. All I can say right now, is that the freeze is expected to thaw. I cannot give a timescale to that, however, stay vigilant! Oh and one other thing, starting fires in attempts to thaw the freeze will not help your sorry cases at all and will only result in disappointment."

Killjoy's brow raised and her eyes narrowed a bit, leaning forward ever so slightly.  
"Do you have _any_ idea what's caused such a dramatic change to the norm? Surely something or _someone_ has caused this that you might know of. That is your job as king, after all, isn't it? To know anything and everything that happens down here?"  
She pried with a shit-eating grin.

Angel was beginning to see that Katie Killjoy probably wasn't one of the demons that supported Alastor in his takeover, favoring Lucifer instead.  
Ever since Alastor had taken over, there, of course, were demons who he'd spoken to that were clear in their opinions and favor of Lucifer over Alastor himself, but that was fine to the deer. He knew he couldn't get everyone on his side, and that wasn't his goal anyways. He didn't want to be favored, he just wanted the power that came with being king over all of those other demons. A power that was like no other.

Alastor paused a moment, taking slight note of the tone that Killjoy used, as condescending as all of her interviews always were. 

"Right now it's not entirely clear what the cause of this is, however I am working very hard in finding all of the information that I can."   
And that was, Alastor supposed, all he could say for now. There wasn't much else he really knew, if he was being completely honest.

"Well, on another note, it seems that you and Angel Dust are _always_ joined at the hip, demonstrated even now. Are you his babysitter or is he more of a pet to you? I know everyone in Hell is buzzing with conversation about the two of you, always being together and Angel Dust even knowing how to get ahold of you at _all times_."  
Katie continued, her grin only growing and teeth seeming to grind a bit.

Alastor had a feeling it wouldn't be long until one of the news anchors brought up the subject of the both of them. With how close they were, especially out in the public, it was bound to be addressed sooner or later.

Angel took a breath, glancing to Alastor for a moment.  
"No, our relationship is nothing like that. We're actually soul bound as of two years ago. We didn't have time to make any official statements on it since we've been busy with our own things."  
The spider began, making sure to keep his voice strong and calm.

Alastor didn't have to nod or anything as he spotted the glance in his direction, his eyes saying everything as Angel continued on. And even as the fact that they were soul-bound was mentioned, Alastor gave a nod, just to back that up in case anyone thought it was just Angel Dust talking nonsense.

"And why did you look to Alastor before speaking? Were you looking for permission?"  
The news anchor pressed.

"No, I was just making I wasn't going to interrupt him by speaking. We're equals and respect each other. We'll ask for each other's opinions on things but never ask for permission."  
Angel was really straining now in keeping his hands away from Alastor.

"It's exactly as Angel said. The two of us are equals. Anyone is to respect Angel just as much as they'd respect me, I'd hope. To anyone wondering why Angel Dust's content has been purely solo, there is your reason and this is our official announcement to everyone down here."

"Alastor probably only did all that for Angel because he's got a nice tight ass."  
A demon from behind the camera commented to another with a scoff.

"He'd never admit to that. But you might be right."  
The second demon laughed a bit.

Angel's head turned towards the not so hushed conversation with narrowed eyes.

Alastor's attention was immediately on the two demons as soon as their rather loud chatter was caught by him, an immediate displeased look crossing the deer's face as he paused his talking, excusing himself for just a second.   
Alastor knew that there was going to be perhaps some stigma around his and Angel's announcement, and that was fine, he was prepared for that; but to be loudly speaking about his lover so crudely right in front of Alastor himself? The deer hardly saw that as acceptable at all.

Standing from his chair, Alastor strode past the cameras and out of frame, immediately slicing into his palm with a claw only to summon two large tentacles, the appendages clambering their way out of the darkness and towards their targets upon Alastor's command.

The two demons were too busy chuckling amongst themselves to notice Alastor rise from his seat and make his way over. Everyone else, however, started moving back and away from the two as not to be caught in the action.

Loud static and shifting frequency noise cut through the air as the Radio Demon effortlessly commanded the tentacles, grabbing the two bad-mouthing demons and immediately crushing every bone they had, not even giving them enough time to scream properly. He molded and contorted them around for a few brief seconds, making sure their life had been completely squeezed out before lowering them just slightly.

Everyone except for Angel, who just watched with a calm smile, watched in terror as the two were mangled and had their lives revoked.

With one final flick of his hand, the bodies were thrown violently against the green backdrop of the newsroom, a loud crunch resonating through the room as the pair of corpses slowly slid to the floor, blood finally having the chance to start to pool.

There was a brief moment of silence in which Alastor returned the tentacles back to their void and waltzed back into the view of the cameras, brushing his hands off before taking his seat again next to Angel.  
"My apologies ladies and gentlemen. Do continue."

The spider gave a small giggle as Alastor returned to his seat, patting the deer's knee.  
"I couldn't have done it better myself."

Katie and Tom looked behind them at the two mounds of flesh, blood, and bone before to each other for a split second. Killjoy simply smiled and turned her attention back to Alastor while Tom straightened out his papers.

"Always a pleasure to have you on our show, Radio Demon! You never fail to keep our janitorial staff employed!"  
She exclaimed before looking back to the camera.  
"Stay tuned for Jeffery's cannibal cooking segment!"

***

The television flicked off in a darkened room.

"You should be resting. You'll face him soon."  
A calm yet worried female's voice rang through the now silent space.

"So... he's still with that spider, is he?"  
A deep, tired chuckle left a seemingly weakened demon as they relaxed into the lavish bedding beneath them. Feeling something they hadn't felt in what seemed like centuries.   
"How... _interesting_."  
A malicious grin curled at the demon's lips, exposing sharp, white teeth.


	26. Double Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting.  
> If you're in the discord server, you'll know we've been working on a new RadioDust series for your enjoyment seeing as this one is coming to a close. Updates on that to come!  
> We've run out of prewritten chapters so we're writing them and posting as we go. We appreciate your patience!  
> Again, thank you for your patience and support!!  
> ~T & K

Three days flew past since Hell had been informed of the Radio Demon and Angel Dust's soul binding partnership, and while a plethora of cameras and microphones were waiting for the couple upon leaving the news station that morning, despite Alastor's words to stay inside during the cold, that attention had luckily since died down following the passing few days; and, what Hell was perhaps most relieved about, was the sudden thawing of the frost that happened a few days later, just as Alastor had predicted.

Needless to say, Angel was relieved the sudden ice had melted. Everything was back to normal by the second day, near blistering heat in effect once again.

Hell freezing over was still a phenomenon that had yet to be explained by anyone, however with the cold subsiding rather quickly, Alastor doubted that the subject would be cared about anymore.

Much to both Molly and Angel's delight, due to the thawing, their suggested double date was back on once again, scheduled one evening at the venue that Alastor had suggested.

"Oh, Anthony, my dear! What tie do you suggest I wear this fine evening?"   
Alastor called out to the spider, the both of them in the midst of getting ready.

Angel walked into their bedroom, pinning a strand of hair back out of his face with a smile as he looked to the deer. Reaching for him, the spider started smoothing the deer's shirt a bit and grabbed the black tie.

"When in doubt, go with black."  
He smiled, placing a kiss to the Radio Demon's cheek.

Alastor smiled as he watched his lover walk into the room as elegant as always.   
"How charming."   
He chuckled as Angel brushed his shoulders off and brought the black tie over, Alastor raising his collar so that it could go on.

"I have a feeling that you and Molly both are going to enjoy the venue we're attending today."   
The deer smiled, bringing one of his hands up to brush a strand of loose hair out of Angel's face.

With a smile, the arachnid hooked the strip of fabric around Alastor's neck and started to tie it for him.   
"I know we will. You got the best taste in everything."  
Making the loops and pulling the ends, Angel folded the collar down again and straightened the tie.

Alastor kept his chin up for his lover as he tied the tie around his neck and pulled his collar down, making everything look neat and well pressed for their night out.

"Why do y'have t'be so handsome, huh? Damn, I'm lucky."  
Angel grinned, leaning in to peck his lover's lips.

"Oh, I'd say I'm rather lucky as well. Having such a wonderful man like yourself in my life."   
The deer chuckled, placing his own quick kiss to Angel's lips before he strode away, pulling on a black suit jacket to match the rest of his outfit, tie now included.

"Right, are you ready? Does your pig have enough food for the night?"   
He asked, moving back over to Angel now and holding his hand out for him.

Angel snapped his fingers and the locket Alastor and Molly had gotten him appeared in his hand, taking a moment to put it on.

During the time they had stuck inside, Angel had gotten much better with his shared abilities with Alastor.   
The teleportation was a bit of a mess, having gotten stuck in a few walls; so that wasn't exactly something he was confident with just yet.   
However the magic finger-snapping and his void use was near perfect.

Alastor simply smiled, an expression that was somewhat proud upon his face as he saw Angel use his ability.   
"Impressive." 

"Everything's all set! Piggy's all fed and happy, got everything ready for our bath later, and... I _think_ that's about it."  
The spider smiled, adjusting the necklace a bit before taking the Radio Demon's hand.

The deer nodded, giving the spider's hand a gentle squeeze as they waltzed out of their bedroom and towards the stairway.

"Would you like to try and teleport us down the stairs?"   
Alastor asked with his usual smile.  
He knew that teleportation in particular was something that the spider was struggling with, and the only way to perfect it was with practice, so why not? Alastor had every faith in Angel that he would not get them stuck in a place they didn't belong in.

The spider's chest puffed out a bit to try and raise his confidence with the task before it deflated again, shaking his head.  
"I think I'm gunna stick with what I got for a while. That other snazzy stuff ain't ready for indoor use yet."  
He explained, gathering the skirt of his dress with his lower set of hands and gave his lover's hand a squeeze.

"Ah, suit yourself. Perhaps after some more practice out in the open now that the frost has cleared."   
He chuckled, beginning to walk down the stairs instead with Angel by his side.  
"Anyways, shall we walk? I do believe the venue for our 'double date' isn't too far."   
It was a place that Alastor knew quite well, and since his friend owned the actual building, Alastor also knew that it would be a safe enough place for them to have a date without there being too much roughhousing.

"If you wanna walk, we can walk. I ain't opposed to it."  
Angel replied with a smile as they walked side by side, hand in hand even after they made it outside.

"Where is this mystery place anyways? I know Molly knows, so why ain't I allowed to know yet?"  
Of course, Molly would have to know, otherwise, she wouldn't know where to meet them.

It was strange, especially after having announced their soul bound relationship to the entirety of Hell, Alastor felt a hell of a lot more confident even holding Angel's hand outside. Even more so than what he had felt beforehand.

"You'll just have to wait and see my dear! No use telling you now after having kept it quiet for this long, haha."

Angel simply rolled his eyes a bit in a playful manner. He didn't really mind the surprise, truthfully. In fact, he was quite fond of them especially when it was Alastor presenting.   
To all, a surprise from the Radio Demon would be terrifying and not something to look forward to, but to Angel, they were the greatest things and he always looked forward to them.

"I'm just glad that whole snow thing cleared up as fast as it did. Almost like it never even happened now."  
Angel hummed, looking around as they walked.

Alastor nodded in reply, looking around as well, not even seeing a trace of snow or ice anywhere.   
"Yes, it was quite an odd phenomenon and I'm still not even entirely sure why or how it happened. I have theories, however nothing solid."   
To anyone else, that was that; but to someone who knew the Radio Demon, you could tell that the deer was rather frustrated over the fact that he hadn't figured this all out.

Angel knew damn well that his lover was unsatisfied with his lack of understanding over the matter. He loved the information and to be without it made him rather irritated and on guard. Knowledge was something Alastor prided himself on as Angel quickly learned since they'd met.

Giving his lover's arm a pat, the spider smiled.  
"I'm sure it was just some idiot messin' around. Probably dead now because of their own stupidity."

Alastor appreciated the gesture from Angel, nodding at his suggestion.   
"Well, that could be the case, my dear. However, a mere prank on that level with enough power behind it to quite literally _freeze_ Hell. That's quite alarming in itself."

Angel did see his point. Nothing on that scale could've been caused by a measly little dirtbag; but they wouldn't think about that now. The duo would have a nice and peaceful date night out alongside Molly and Stewart, and all would be well.   
"Anyways... the venue isn't far now. I'm sure you've probably walked past it a million times."

With a nod, Angel took the hint and dropped the subject for now. They would have plenty of time to further discuss their theories when they returned home.

"The countless times I walked these streets and never went inside of these places, I believe ya."  
He replied, looking around a little more, recognizing the general area.   
His gaze stopped once he spotted Molly and Stewart just ahead outside of a building.

Alastor nodded, looking around the area himself and smiling, raising a hand when he spotted Molly and Stewart from a distance outside the building that they were going to have their shared date at.  
"Ah look, they're already here."   
He pointed out.

To say that Molly was excited was certainly an understatement. For months now had she been trying to find a day that suited all four of them to meet for a night, and the one day that she chose seemed to be the time that all of Hell decided to freeze over. Luckily for her and her plans, all had thawed and was seemingly back to normal within a short time.

"Oh Stew look, they're here!"   
She chimed cheerfully, pulling the rabbit demon closer to her by their arms that were linked as she pointed out her brother and Alastor.

Stewart gave a chuckle and raised a hand in return to Alastor's greeting.  
"Wonderful to officially meet you, Radio Demon."  
He smiled once they were close enough.  
"Anthony, lovely to see you again."

Alastor nodded extending a hand out for Stewart to shake.   
"Pleasure to meet you Stewart, please, call me Alastor."   
He had seen Stewart from a distance from Molly occasionally hanging out with Angel over the last two years, however surprisingly he had never properly met the rabbit demon.

"Alastor, a pleasure to finally meet you."  
Stewart accepted the invitation and briefly shook the deer's hand with a small bow of his head.

"Great t'see you two're okay!"  
Angel grinned, reaching for his sister with his free hand.  
"Where ever did you get that dress, Miss Molly? It's absolutely stunning!"  
He teased.

Molly spluttered a laugh at her brother's words once he was close, gently nudging him in the side with one of her free arms.   
"Oh I know. Stunning, aren't I? Just an absolute doll tonight."   
She giggled.

Angel laughed a bit and nodded.  
"Not like y'weren't already."  
He then glanced up at their venue with a raised brow.  
"Heard good things about this place. Word must be true if _you_ come here, Al."  
Angel looked to Alastor with a smile.

Stewart walked to the door and opened it for the other three.  
"In we go then!"

Alastor nodded before turning to Angel with a sharp grin of his own.   
"Oh yes, great things indeed. A good friend of mine owns the place and will be singing tonight as well."   
He informed them all, Molly practically buzzing in excitement as she made her way in after Stewart held the door open for them.

Immediately, a demon was greeting them at the door, looking rather afraid over the fact that two overlords had suddenly entered the fine establishment.

The demon almost stumbled forward in a cowering manner, clearing her throat.  
"Right this way please."  
She spoke before guiding the party of four back behind the curtain.

Angel gave a small chuckle and leaned closer to Alastor.  
"It's cute when their tails go right between their legs, all scared."  
He whispered as they all followed close behind their escort.

Alastor stifled a laugh at his lover's words as they were led to a private booth behind the dark curtain, the lighting lower now that they were further into the building.   
"Yes, quite literally. Well, I can't blame them. We do look awfully terrifying, haha!"

The demon sat all four of them down in the booth before passing each of them a menu and quickly backing away.

"Yeesh Al, how fancy is this place?"   
Molly giggled, looking across at the deer with a grin as she picked up the menu, looking at all of the items along with Stewart.

Angel gave a small laugh.  
"This is Al you're talkin' to, remember. Only the best for him."  
He replied as he winked at the deer, picking up one of the menus to look over as well.

"This is also Miss Mimzy we're talking about, too. She's got an exceptional taste from what I gather."  
Stewart added as he glanced around before his eyes settled on the menu.

Mimzy, in particular, was one of the few demons that Alastor had known the longest down here. He'd met her very shortly after his manifestation, and aside from her initial infatuation with the Radio Demon, the two of them became good friends, both sharing an innate love for jazz and swing.

Angel hadn't heard of this demon before but from the state and style of her business, he had a feeling he'd like her.

"Very good taste indeed."   
Alastor added with a nod, humming to himself as he looked over the menu, there being many dishes that took his fancy.  
"What do you think you'll be having?"   
The deer asked Angel, looking up from the menu towards his lover.

One particular item on the menu piqued his interest. Pointing to it with a raised brow, glancing at Alastor with a smirk, Angel basically saying he wanted that particular item and knew the Radio Demon would too.

Alastor looked over to Angel's menu upon seeing him pointing out something that yes, had caught Alastor's eye as well.  
"You want that too? Are you sure?"   
It was a dish that Alastor had given Angel to try a fair few times over the past two years, and he was awfully surprised at first when he learned that Angel did like the taste.   
"I will say this though my dear. This place has the finest quality of it. So if you're going to have it outside of our house, dine on it here."

Angel couldn't help but grin, placing the menu down.  
"I'm sure it's great, but it'll never be anything like yours."  
The spider replied before looking across to Molly and Stewart for a moment.

Alastor couldn't help but smile at that. Knowing that Angel loved his cooking was always something that made the deer smile all the more than he usually did.   
"Believe me, my dear. As soon as you taste it here? There'll be nothing better."

"I kinda wanna get it for all four of us and not tell 'em what it is. See what they think. It'd be like my first time havin' it."  
He chuckled lightly, voice quiet so only Alastor could really hear.

It was at Angel's sudden suggestion that Alastor's smile grew even more.  
"Oh yes, that would be quite the entertaining revelation indeed."   
Alastor quietly chuckled.   
"What harm can it do, hm? Trying new foods is always a delight!"

Angel then turned to the duo across the table with a grin.  
"If you're feelin' adventurous, we think y'might like the one at the very bottom. That's what Al and I are gettin'."  
He stated, pointing to the item that was listed.  
There was no description of what the dish was, but Angel knew by now what Alastor's favorites were.

Stewart simply raised a brow as he glanced over to Molly for her opinion.

Molly took a moment to search and look over the bottom menu item that her brother had recommended, slightly skeptical over the fact that the dish as a whole had no description or anything.

"Uhh... I mean, if you an' Al like it, then it must be good, right?"   
She voiced more to herself than anything, eventually looking over to Stew for his opinion.   
"I might have it since I'm not gunna make my mind up on anything otherwise. What about you, babe?"

"I had my eye on something already, but if you get it, I'll be more than willing to try some."  
The rabbit replied, neatly placing the menu down on the table and folding his hands on top.

Angel kept his eyes on Molly.  
"It's up to you. I ain't gunna force anything on ya, but I will have ya try some if ya choose somethin' else. See if ya like it."

Molly nodded at that, finally having decided as she put her menu down as well.   
"Yeah, I think I'll have it. No harm in trying, y'know."   
She smiled, leaning against Stewart slightly.

Alastor could only grin, knowing that Molly was certainly in for a surprise once she found out what the dish actually was- _if_ she ever found out, that was.

It wasn't long after all of them had settled on the food, that the demon that had seated them returned with a notepad in hand, taking down both their drink and food orders before scurrying off with a bow of her head.

Angel turned his attention back to the two across from himself and Alastor with a smile, playing it off as if nothing was about to really happen.  
"So, what have the two of you been up to? I'm glad to see you're not frozen to second death or anything."

Stewart cleared his throat.  
"We've been doing the same old things. Nothing too far out of the ordinary. Though the sudden freeze did shake things up quite a bit. Quite the shock as well."

Molly nodded eagerly, remembering back to her initial confusion and worry the moment that the frost froze the entirety of Hell.   
"At first I was stuck at home after the frost hit, which wasn't exactly ideal. But after a day, I managed to get to Stew's place and we stayed together until the ice thawed."   
She explained with a nod.   
"Dad an' Frankie were _super_ confused about it all as well. Even if they didn't show it, I could tell they were shittin' themselves deep down."

But now things were back to normal, everyone in Hell had thankfully calmed down again- or at least as calm as demons down in Hell could get.

Angel couldn't help but snort with laughter.  
"Well, I'm glad you weren't stuck with those two dipshits for too long. Wouldn't want ya goin' insane or nothin'."  
He replied.

Stewart seemed to just chuckle lightly.  
"No no, we found a way. Everything turned out just fine, obviously."  
With that, the rabbit placed a quick kiss to the side of Molly's head with a smile.

"Oh yeah, as much as I love them, being around them at that time wasn't fun, and I was only there for a day."   
Molly giggled softly, shooting Stewart an affection filled glance at the kiss that found its way to the side of her head. 

Angel leaned into Alastor a little with a smile, seeming to want the same kind of affection Molly was getting, even if it was just a hint.

The deer took note of the way Angel leaned into him, having just seen Stewart kiss Molly, Alastor could only presume that his lover was after something similar; and so, Alastor brought a hand off the table and wrapped his arm around Angel, letting him lean against him a little.   
After all, their relationship was now public and Alastor knew for a fact that no one would dare say anything bad about them within their earshot.

Angel graciously turned his head towards the Radio Demon and kissed his cheek before continuing a bit of small talk with his sister.

Simply listening to the small talk was Alastor's scene more than anything, the Radio Demon taking this time out to relax and not have to worry about Hell or anything else for the moment. 

The waitress came around with their drinks soon after and assured them that their meals would be along shortly after.

Sipping his wine, Angel raised a brow.  
"Ain't even tasted the food yet and I can already tell it's gunna be good."

When their drinks arrived, Alastor gladly accepted the alcohol, taking a small sip.  
It wasn't long after that, that the lighting in the room suddenly dimmed a little more, the stage that they were facing a few meters away, lighting up instead, a few demons towards the side taking their places at some instruments. 

The curtain that was on the stage slowly began to rise to reveal a microphone stand and a female demon dressed in an outfit that could only be described as having come straight out of the 1920s. With her pitch-black eyes, bright pink pupils and blonde hair, Alastor immediately recognized her to be Mimzy- a long time friend of his, and the owner of this fine establishment he and his company found themselves currently in.

As soon as the lights dimmed, Angel's attention was on the entertainment. An instrumental began to play, one in which he was familiar with.   
The demon that stood at the microphone was quite short and stout, but pleasing to look at nonetheless. Quite the contrast to a majority of Hell's denizens.

It was clear she knew of their presence, eyes seeming to land on their table for a moment before she took the first breath, a voice of silk leaving those pipes.

"Smile though your heart is aching... smile even though it's breaking. When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by if you smile through your fear and sorrow. Smile and maybe tomorrow you'll see the sun come shining through for you."

Now Angel knew for sure which song this was. It seemed to be her own little rendition of it, nice all the same.

Alastor smiled as soon as the opening line of the song left Mimzy's lips, her voice like heaven as it filled the entire room. The deer knew well of this song, the deer having heard it many a time over the years.

"Light up your face with gladness. Hide every trace of sadness... although a tear may be ever so near..."  
She continued.

As she sang, Alastor turned to look at Angel as he sipped at his drink, a wide smile on his face, one of affection.

As for Molly, she had her head leaned against Stewart, a smile on her face as well as she listened to the music, one of her hands on top of the table, tapping along to the song that Mimzy sang.

Angel leaned further into Alastor when he saw the look he gave from the corner of his eye, his own smile widening.

"That's the time you must keep on trying. Smile, what's the use of crying? You'll find that life is still worthwhile if you just smile."  
The flapper dressed woman continued, her own smile growing as the song drew to its close.  
"That's the time you must keep on trying. Smile, what's the use of crying? You'll find that life is still worthwhile... if you just smile."

Once the band cut, respectful applause rung out in the room, Angel even setting his glass down to use both sets of hands.

As the meaningful song came to a close, Alastor indeed clapped, raising his glass in the direction of Mimzy as she stood back from the microphone a moment to take in the applause.

Alastor hadn't noticed, but in the time that the song had been going on, the demon that was serving them had since returned, an array of plates in her many hands that looked absolutely delicious. The demon set their plates down carefully, Stewart's meal being the only odd one out. She then topped off their glasses before excusing herself with a bow.

Alastor sat up a little at the arrival of the food, his mouth almost watering at what he knew was about to come. One of the finest delicacies down in Hell, in his opinion. 

Angel couldn't help but grin, looking down at the food for a moment and then to the other three, excitement clear in his eyes.  
"Oh, this looks amazing!"

Another song began to play from the band and Mimzy began singing again.

Molly looked excitedly down at the plate that was in front of her, picking up the cutlery.   
"Wow, this looks delicious! What kind of meat is it? Or, I'm guessin' it _is_ meat. Looks like it."   
She smiled, cutting into the supposed meat that was on the plate surrounded by other ingredients she knew to be native to Hell.

Angel picked up his utensils as well, grinning as he looked across to his sister.  
"Taste it and see if you can guess. I betcha won't in a million years."  
He winked, cutting into the meat as well.

Stewart's ear noticeably twitched at Angel's statement before he examined Molly's plate a little closer with slightly narrowed eyes.  
"You're not trying to poison her, are you?"

Molly carefully cut a piece of the meat up onto her fork and began to bring it to her mouth, however before she could eat it, she suddenly paused at her boyfriend's words.   
"Oh Stew, c'mon. They wouldn't poison me, really."   
She huffed with a roll of her eyes, noticing the way Stewart's ears twitched.   
"If they're eating it, it's gunna be good."   
And with that, she began to chow down, her brows slowly furrowing at the flavor.   
"I've never tasted this before... what is it? Tastes... sweet? Juicy. I dunno, but it's fuckin' good!"

Stewart watched closely but seemed to turn his focus to his own meal when he saw she was alright.

"Glad ya like it! I'll tell ya what it is when ya finish it."  
Angel laughed a bit and took the first bit of his own food, eyes closing in pure joy.  
No, it wasn't as good as Alastor's, but it was pretty damn close.  
"Oh Jesus, it's been too long-"  
He muttered to himself with a sigh.

Alastor himself didn't waste any time digging in, trying his hardest to be as neat and clean as he could while eating.  
"Too long-"   
He nodded in response to his lover's words, glad that he had someone else to share this with.

As they all ate, music from the live jazz band surrounded them along with Mimzy's voice like a literal angel, livening up the club.

The chatter between the four of them dulled to silence as they all indulged in their exquisite meals.

When all was near finished Mimzy made her appearance at their table with a big smile.  
"Alastor, my sweet deer! It's been far too long! Was everything to your liking?"  
The blonde beamed.

Angel had just taken the last bite of his meal when he heard the voice, his eyes looking towards her with a polite smile and dabbed the corners of his mouth with the cloth napkin provided.

Alastor couldn't help the wide grin that spread across his face as his old friend made her presence known at the table, that usual warm and friendly aura surrounding her.

"Ah, Mimzy dear! Always a pleasure to hear your wonderful voice singing for us all on this fine evening!"   
Alastor beamed back, everything on his plate long finished.   
"And do you even need to ask? Of course, the food here is always divine without fail!"

The Radio Demon and Mimzy went way back, decades, and despite the fact that Alastor hadn't really mentioned her very much around Angel or during the past few years at all, both of them were still very much friends.   
"In fact, it is my dear friend Miss Molly's first time trying the 'special' item on the menu; and I do believe she enjoyed it very much."

"Oh, how was it? Better than one would've thought, huh?"  
Mimzy grinned at Molly, who nodded in reply despite still not having a clue what it was.

"How would you like to give us a song, Alastor? It's been so long since I've heard you play and sing and I quite honestly miss it."  
The blonde demon continued.  
"That'll be your payment to me. Just one song."

Angel turned to Alastor with a wide smile and shiny eyes.  
"Oh, please! It's been a while for me too!"  
He pleaded.

Alastor grinned even wider at the suggestion that was suddenly put out there. Indeed, it had been a long while since he'd played in front of a crowd like this.

"Alright then, if you all insist."   
The deer smiled, slowly standing from the table.

"Hey hey hey, wait wait. Before you all run off singing an' dancin'. I gotta know what I just ate. I'm even more curious now!"   
Molly laughed, turning towards her brother with a smile.   
"It really was delicious, I'll give ya that."

Angel raised a brow a bit, keeping his eyes on his lover as he left the group.

"Oh, she doesn't know?"  
Mimzy looked to Angel with something of a smirk.  
"Well, I'll leave you to that then."  
She stated before moving towards an empty table to sit at so she could enjoy Alastor's show.

As for Alastor, with Mimzy having taken a seat, he took his own at the grand piano that stretched across the floor by the side of the stage, thinking for a moment about what he wanted to play.

"Hm?"  
Angel's attention moved back to Molly for a moment.  
"Oh, are ya sure y'wanna know?"  
He asked with a small smirk.

Molly's frown just grew as she turned her attention to Stewart before looking back at her brother suspiciously again.   
"...yes? Oh please don't tell me it's Hell Hound- as much as I hate those damn things, they're _occasionally_ sweet."   
She cautiously looked down at her finished played, once again glancing over to Stewart, who looked Angel up and down with his own suspensions.

Angel shook his head.  
"Nope, close though."  
He then leaned back a little, crossing one leg over the other from under the table.  
"It's actually another sinner."  
He then stated nonchalantly as he looked back towards the Radio Demon in anticipation.

Molly paused, a look of uncertainty upon her face as she took a second to process what she'd just been told and what she'd just supposedly eaten.   
"You serious?"   
She almost squeaked, one of her hands flying to her mouth as she slowly stood from the table, suddenly feeling ill.   
"Tony that's fucking disgusting- how could you let me eat that!"

Stewart moved out of the way for her as she stood, the female spider turning to the both of them.   
"I'll be right back. I need to go fuckin' barf out my insides."

Angel couldn't help but laugh at her response, almost doubling over.  
"Oh c'mon! I ate it, Al ate it! You even said yourself it was good!"  
He laughed, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

Stewart took Molly's hand as a way of reassuring her.  
"Be careful, my sweet."

Shaking her head, Molly gave her boyfriend's hand a squeeze before quickly walking away from the table in attempts to find the bathrooms.

There weren't too many demons walking around the floor of the establishment, the majority of them sitting at their tables.   
However it was seconds after Molly got up from the table that a short and stocky demon came up behind her and slapped her hard on her ass, the man chuckling darkly as he brushed past her.   
"Nice ass sweetheart, should come sit with me. I'll treat ya real nice."

Before anyone could properly react, Stewart's ears twitched as they picked up the sound of a slap and a voice.   
Quickly standing and making his way to where the sound had come from, the whites of his eyes changed to a deep crimson, making the green of his irises pop with a furious glow.

Molly stood her ground, gasping in offense at both the disrespectful gesture and words that followed.   
"How fucki-"   
However before she could continue, Stewart stepped in, the female spider smiling a little as the rabbit defended her, ears twitching in clear anger.   
Grabbing the assailant's shoulder with a death grip, the rabbit tilted his head with a small smile.  
"Excuse me, _sir_ , but that just so happens to be my woman you've disrespected."

"Thank you, Stew, sugar... let him really have it."   
Molly then grinned, leaning across to press a small kiss to her boyfriend's cheek before she continued on her way to the bathroom.

It was at this point that Alastor had slowly begun to start a song on the piano, noticing the commotion from the corner of his eye and choosing a rather lively tune to play; and this song, in particular, he knew, was one of Angel's favorites, so why not let the spider join his performance?  
With taking one hand off the piano briefly, the Radio Demon snapped his fingers.

Just as Angel stood to make his way over to where Stewart was to help assist with his sister's defense, he found himself suddenly up on the stage with the microphone right in front of him.

"Come on my dear, nice and loud! You know this one! Entertain the room!"  
The Radio Demon cheered with a wide grin.

It took him a moment or two to come to terms with what Alastor was saying and have it click, the tune familiar. The arachnid's mismatched eyes moved down to the deer after seeing that Stewart seemed to be handling the situation.

"What? Lil' ol' me? Why I guess it'd be rude to impose."  
He stated coyly with a grin, paying no more attention to Stewart as Molly was then safe, he took the first breath and began to sing once the cue struck in time with a loud crunch of bones from supposedly Stewart's grip on the demon's shoulder followed by a loud growl of pain.

"I ache for the touch of your lips, dear; but much more for the touch of your whips, dear. You can raise welts like nobody else as we dance to the Masochism Tango. Let our love be a flame, not an ember. Say it's me that you want to dismember. Blacken my eye, set fire to my tie; as we dance to the Masochism Tango."

Alastor slowly sped up the speed of his playing once Angel had joined in, a wide grin upon his face. Once again, Alastor pulled a hand away from the piano briefly to snap his fingers, the other instruments in the room suddenly beginning to chime in, dark shadow like demons kicking the other band members out the way in favor of playing themselves upon the Radio Demons command.

"Why, you're doing wonderfully, my darling!"   
Alastor called out to Angel, looking across at him before turning his attention back to Stewart, seeing the nasty brawl that had broken out between him and the stranger demon- the fight going very much in the rabbit's favor as he tore the other demon apart.

Mimzy just seemed to sit back and watch as the rabbit synced his punches with the beat. She didn't seem to care about the violence occurring in her domain, rather enjoying it, actually.

"At your command before you here I stand, my heart is in my hand. It's here that I must be. My heart entreats just hear those savage beats and go put on your cleats and come and trample me. Your heart is hard as stone or mahogany. That's why I'm in such exquisite agony. My soul is on fire, it's aflame with desire, which is why I perspire when we tango."  
Angel continued to sing, his eyes closing as his arms moved and gave dramatic effect to the words until he took the microphone from its stand, starting to walk down towards Alastor's perch at the piano.

"You caught my nose in your left castanet, love. I can feel the pain yet, love, every time I hear drums; and I envy the rose that you held in your teeth, love."  
He continued through the pained crunches and noises coming from the corner of the room, moving to sit up on top of the piano and looking to Alastor with a smirk.  
"With the thorns underneath, love, sticking into your gums. Your eyes cast a spell that bewitches. The last time I needed twenty stitches to sew up the gash that you made with your lash as we danced to the Masochism Tango."

Molly soon returned from the bathroom, a small smile on her face as she spotted her boyfriend still beating the demon into the ground. The music was something she had been able to hear through the walls beforehand, but her brother singing had certainly been unexpected as she moved back towards their table, getting into view of the stage and the instruments surrounding- as well as Angel who was sitting on top of the piano.

Alastor still continued to play, smirking up at his lover as he came to sit on the piano, the Radio Demon offering him a slight wink in regards to the words that the spider sang.

"Bash in my brain and make me scream with pain, then kick me once again and say we'll never part. I know too well, I'm underneath your spell. So, darling, if you smell something burning, it's my heart."  
Angel continued, the song drawing to its close as he shifted to lay on his stomach, facing the deer.  
From then on, Alastor had his undivided attention upon Angel, his hands still playing along, but his mind was elsewhere, so enthralled by the spider demon in front of him.

"Take your cigarette from its holder and burn your initials in my shoulder. Fracture my spine and swear that you're mine as we dance to the Masochism Tango."

Just as Angel breathed the last syllable, the now bloodied body of his sister's violator was kicked up and thrown onto the keys of the piano just before Alastor had the chance to give the ending notes, the deer quickly retracting his hands just before the body touched him.  
The spider wasn't phased, simply gazing into the Radio Demon's eyes with nothing but love and admiration.

Although the final notes of the song, unfortunately, did not ring out throughout the room, the bloodied body being thrown onto the piano in an ending was a rather nice touch, Alastor thought.

Slowly standing from the stool, Alastor brushed himself down, side-eyeing the body on the piano with a grin.   
"Why, that was quite an excellent show!"   
The Radio Demon exclaimed over the few claps of applause, the shadow demons at the instruments slowly fading away as if they'd never even been there in the first place.   
"And Anthony darling, excellent singing as always."

Angel began to sit up with a smile as Mimzy stood from her spot and made her way over while continuing her applause.

"Fantastic show! You're quite the duo, I'll give you that!"  
She cheered with a wide smile.  
"I had a feeling that piano was a bit too clean. That bit of blood puts a nice touch to it."

"There's nothing more welcoming than a dash of blood!"   
The deer replied.

Angel glanced to the body and then to Stewart, who had an arm around Molly, having a discrete conversation, then hopped off of the piano, wrapping an arm around Alastor with a smile.  
"Glad you enjoyed! It was fun and thanks for lettin' us play for ya. The food really was fantastic, by the way."  
He winked down at the short woman.

Mimzy gave a laugh and waved her hand.  
"Oh, of course! Any time! Speaking of which, I'm going to go ahead and take this to the kitchen to be disposed of."  
She stated as she began pulling the mangled demon towards the kitchen doors.

Alastor chuckled as Mimzy dragged the body off, no doubt in his mind in regards to what it was going to be made into.  
"I'd say this evening has turned out to be quite the success!"   
He smiled, looking back towards Angel, catching a glimpse of Molly and Stewart from the corner of his eye.  
"I do hope your sister is alright. Some demons can be awfully unpleasant. It seems the scum certainly do outnumber the pleasant, even in a fine establishment such as this."   
The deer stated with a tut, beginning to walk back to the table with Angel.

"I'm sure she's fine. Stew handled it real well, I think."  
The spider smiled, placing a kiss to Alastor's cheek as they made their way back to the table, Molly and Stewart gravitating back as well.

"Well, gents, it's been a wonderful evening but we will be making our way home now."  
The rabbit spoke up, an arm around Molly's waist.

"Tony, you're a dick for makin' me eat that."  
She huffed.

Angel raised a brow and shrugged.  
"Eh, I know ya can't stay mad at me. Either way, stay safe out there and we'll see ya again real soon."  
He said, hugging his sister goodbye.

"Lovely to officially meet you properly, Stewart; and a pleasure as always to see you too, Miss Molly."   
Alastor nodded.

"Yes, you as well, Alastor. I look forward to another evening with the two of you."  
The rabbit replied, giving the deer a farewell handshake before leading Molly out of the establishment.

"Hm, what a pleasant evening."   
Alastor muttered to more himself than anyone.

Angel's phone began to ring as soon as the two were just out of sight.  
Pulling his phone out, he saw it was a private caller.

"Who's this? I'm kinda busy."  
He sighed when he answered. The arachnid seemed to become a little stiff before his eyes moved toward Alastor, pausing for a moment.

Turning around to look at Angel, raising a brow at the sight of a phone up to the arachnid's ear; but that wasn't what grabbed Alastor's attention. The thing that really made him pause was the sudden look that landed upon his lover's face and the emotion paired with it.

"It's... for you, Al..."  
The spider stated, holding the phone out towards his lover.

Alastor swiftly took the phone from Angel's hold and held it up to the side of his head, the two of them making their way out of the entrance of the building.   
"Hello, may I help you?"   
There was a silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds before the mystery caller spoke...

"I want to make a deal... one that you cannot ignore."


	27. Check

It wasn't long after the very brief call for the Radio Demon concluded that they started to make their way to their new destination.

Angel wasn't sure how to feel about the whole thing, his senses were almost blocked. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be worried or not. He couldn't tell what was going to happen and that just made him all the more nervous.

"So, did she say what she wanted?"  
The spider asked as they began to approach the gates of a place they'd been to before, and quite honestly, Angel never saw himself returning. Yet here he was. Here _they_ were, nearly three years later.

Alastor was silent, his mind running rampant with thoughts, worries, and simply static. He could barely think and yet at the same time, he couldn't stop thinking.   
"She wants to make a deal."  
He finally replied after a few moments.

"You shouldn't have come."   
The deer then stated bluntly as they walked, the tall dark gates adorned with spikes awaiting them, opening slowly as they approached.  
Truth be told, the Radio Demon felt uneasy. All of it- nothing for almost three years and then within the same month that the entirety of Hell freezes over, this rather out of the blue phone call? 

Where the Radio Demon usually had the certainty of knowing his opponents and knowing that he could outsmart them, he felt like this was different. Not like the last time at all; and he was worried.

"I can tell you're real put off about this."  
Angel began, taking Alastor's hand to stop him from walking and turned to face him.  
"Remember the promise. You're not doin' _anything_ alone. I'm doin' all of this with you whether y'like it or not."

The Radio Demon paused briefly, looking Angel dead in the eyes as he spoke to him, feeling the spider take his hand and cup his cheek soon after. 

"Got it?"

"I know, I understand. Anthony, you mean everything to me. I simply do not want you to get injured; but I suppose if you insist, then I can't stop you, really. Besides, Mimzy did say we were a good duo."   
With a small smile at that, Alastor gave Angel's hand a small squeeze, continuing on with walking.

The arachnid smiled, walking along while keeping a hold on the deer's hand.   
"You know I can take care of myself. Especially now that we share a lot."  
His eyes moved towards the large building now, squeezing Alastor's hand lightly.   
"I'm sure everything's gunna be fine. You don't even have to accept the deal if y'don't like the terms. She can't do anything."

"Just promise me you'll stay alert, hm? I can't imagine that she has exactly forgiven us."   
Alastor noted. He knew that Angel was strong, one of the strongest, if not the strongest demon he knew aside from himself, so there were no issues there, really.  
"Why it's quite unusual for me to feel this way, my dear, however, I sense that something is off... even from out here. Then again, it could either be the alcohol or simply the fact that we are here of all places."

Angel glanced around, the property in general not looking as it did all that time ago; now dull and grey. Lifeless.

He took a breath as they went up the front steps to the grand doors, pausing again before either of them could touch the door.  
"Edward, wait a second... before we go in, I need you to know that I love you."   
Cupping the deer's cheek, Angel sighed.  
"I know I said everything's gunna be fine, but I know you feel somethin'. I feel it too, so if things somehow go south, I'm sayin' all this now so that if somethin' happens, you'll still know."

Alastor stopped, once again looking to Angel who had halted them, the spider cupping his cheek affectionately. Telling him something that no matter how many times Alastor heard it, those words always reassured him to no end.   
"I've always known it, Anthony. Why it's been quite the journey for the both of us to get to where we are now, but throughout all of it- I've always loved you too."  
The deer then leaned forwards into that soft hold Angel had on his cheek, gently joining their lips together in a kiss, pulling away after a second or two.   
"Everything is going to be fine; and I will do everything in my power to ensure that for you- and for me too. I promise."

And with that, the deer clutched the ornate handle of that grand double doors, barely having to push once the handle was turned, the doors opening more or less themselves, only to greet the two of them with unsettling darkness.

As soon as the doors opened to the pitch-black interior, Angel felt his insides knot. It was so bright and lively before...

Taking a careful step inside of the grand entrance, Angel immediately noticed two figures standing at the top of the grand gold, white and red staircase; one that featured two glowing red eyes and the other one white glowing eye and a glowing red X where the other eye would have been.

"Ah, Miss Vagatha. Miss Charlotte."   
Alastor grinned as they entered the darkened grand foyer, his glowing eyes taking a second to adjust to the dark once the doors behind them had closed with a bang, blocking out all and any natural light.

As soon as the darkness consumed them, the spider whipped around to make sure there was no one behind them, his fur puffed out and the pink markings on his body suddenly began to glow; something new but obviously correlated with feeling threatened.  
All of these elements caused Angel's grip on Alastor to tighten slightly.

"Come, so we may discuss."  
One spoke as the two turned on their heels and started down the hallway.

As the females began walking, Alastor slowly began to follow, sensing from Angel that was not exactly at ease in this environment.   
Aside from their footsteps and the tap of Alastor's cane against the floor with every step, it was deathly silent inside, safe for the occasional crackling of static.

Turning back towards the stairs, Angel began following with the deer. Something was definitely wrong here.

The two females came to a door near the end of the hallway and went inside after glancing back at the two males.

Alastor was quiet as he followed the two, occasionally glancing over to Angel, noticing how his pink markings had begun to glow, indicating his anxiousness and distrust of this entire situation.   
Stopping himself outside the door once the two women had stepped inside, Alastor once again looked to Angel, giving him a nod of reassurance before stepping in, the level of light still not being much better.

As soon as they entered the room, Vaggie shut the door quietly behind them before joining Charlie on the other side of the room.

Angel stayed close to Alastor, not liking this at all. He wanted to believe that he was just overthinking but deep down he knew something bad was going to happen; and when it did, Angel was going to do everything he could to protect Alastor and he knew Alastor was going to do everything he could to protect him at the same time.

"I guess you're wondering why I asked you to come here."  
Charlie began with a calm tone, keeping her chin up.

Alastor too kept his chin up, smile unbelievably wide upon his face as he snapped his neck to the side in question.   
"Haha, yes! I think that's the one thing Angel and I are just _dying_ to know. Why you mentioned something about a deal, however, I have an inkling of a feeling it's something a little more than that! _Do_ enlighten us."   
There was a hint of malice to his overall cheerful tone, however, it was very slight, the Radio Demon wanting to cut to the point as soon as possible.

Vaggie seemed to glance at Charlie for a quick moment before having her attention return to the two in front of them.

"I think I should take a few steps back. Tell you why I stopped rounding others up to take you down."  
The blonde stated.  
"I knew the cat was sent by you from the moment he stepped forward. You didn't think that one through, _obviously_."

Now this was certainly interesting to Alastor. He thought that was behind them all- almost three years in the past.

"Oh? So you saw past my dear friend Husker's facade of hating me? Why I thought he was awfully convincing. Did you not?"   
The deer spoke smugly, leaning forwards, both hands upon his microphone cane now.

He was suspicious, why would Charlie want to bring that up? Did it somehow relate to this so-called deal she wanted to make? If she ever wanted to make a deal in the first place. Which, now Alastor thought about it, it was starting to seem less and less likely.   
Briefly glancing across to Angel, Alastor gave him a small wink, simply to convey to him that everything was alright.

Angel kept his eyes on the others, making sure to keep his composure strong.

"You chose to send someone who clearly had no interest in their own well-being, let alone anyone else's. Someone like that wouldn't care."   
She explained.   
"So, I stopped the meetings after coming up with a new plan. One that I wouldn't need anyone else for."

The Magne family's manor, ever since _it_ had happened, had been void of all things that made it the way it was previously. For a while, Charlie had been working hard, Vaggie of course with her every step of the way- but it ultimately never felt like enough.

Lilith quickly grew tired after the supposed death of her husband, not being seen by anyone outside of the manor for two years, not that anyone cared, of course. All of Hell was under a new ruler, the Magne's seemingly forgotten by the media and everything else surrounding that; but that was good.   
If Charlie and Vaggie could have asked for anything... then it would have been to be forgotten for a while, and it seemed their wish came true. After disbanding the small group of demons that Hell's ex-princess had gathered to initially aid in ripping the Radio Demon from his throne, Charlie and Vaggie went off the radar. A new plan had begun.

It took over two years overall to both plan and execute the search, and Lilith was a vital part of that. The ring was ultimately the key.

_Two years earlier..._

"Are you sure that was a good idea? What were you _thinking_ \- everything was going smoothly!"   
Vaggie's voice filled with concern broke the silence as she joined Charlie in a room that overlooked Hell. In light of her girlfriend's decision, albeit sudden, to dismiss the demons they had worked so hard to gather, it seemed that Vaggie for one was confused as to _why_ exactly.

With a curt nod, the ex-princess turned slightly from looking out over Pentagram City through the large window in front of them.

"Believe me, I know what I'm doing. False security is a pretty powerful thing. Make them think they're out of danger and they'll lower their guards. All we need now is that ring and we can properly begin our search. No distractions."   
She firmly stated, looking back out over the darkened silhouette of the city.

"I just hope this works. For Hell's sake and for your family's sake."  
Vaggie slowly approached, placing a gentle hand of fondness upon Charlie's shoulder, joining them in looking out over the city.

Leaning into the hand upon her shoulder, Charlie gently spoke up again, their voice a little softer with a hint of sorrow.   
"I hope so too, Vaggie... I really do."  
Taking a breath before turning to leave the room, she gave a bit of an optimistic smile.  
"Come on. Let's go explain the plan to Mom. I know she'll give us what we need."

As the days passed by and turned into weeks then months, Lilith's state and condition, in general, seemed to be worsening. Since she and her husband had been soul bound, due to the unfortunate circumstances, the woman was not doing well at all. She was weak, fell into a deep state of depression, and barely spoke to anyone aside from her daughter and Vaggie.

So it was at the knock on the door and her daughter's voice sounding out that Lilith weakly called out for them to enter, presuming that Vaggie was there too seeing as the two were joined at the hip; so she would be there too, no doubt.

Charlie slowly and quietly entered the room as not to disturb her mother too much.   
"Hey, Mom? I know you're not able to do much of anything, but I have an idea that I think will succeed."   
She spoke softly as she approached the large and luxurious bed that Lilith remained on for the past few weeks.

Lilith lay flat upon the bed, her eyes that had previously been closed began to open at the sound of her daughter's voice again.

"Charlie... we've discussed this. These... _ideas_ of yours. They haven't worked, and I know this will not either."   
The woman replied, slowly beginning to sit herself up, patting the bed for her daughter and her girlfriend to join her.  
"If I had the strength myself... you _know_ I would have avenged him. However with him gone, a part of me is buried deep- I feel it. Such a thing is painful."

Charlie quickly sat herself down and carefully helped Lilith lay back down with a small sigh.  
"I know my ideas haven't always worked.... okay, they've _never_ worked- but just listen to this one. Please. It could bring Dad back."  
She explained, holding her mother's hand gently.  
"I did some reading. The bond between you and Dad. The rings. I know that they react to each other. Yours is dim right now, meaning he's really far away; but _not_ dead. He can't be dead. It's impossible."

It really pained Charlie seeing her powerful mother figure like this and she was willing to do anything to bring Lucifer back no matter how long it took or what it required.

Lilith slowly paused to look down at the ring that was on her finger. The one piece of jewelry that had never left her for centuries. The one piece of jewelry that could never be replaced and had unimaginable value.

"Are you positive about this?"   
There was a hint of hope in her voice, however nothing solid.   
For all she knew, this plan would amount to nothing again; and the last thing she wanted right now was for her daughter to find the body of her father somewhere.   
"You _must_ have a plan, Charlie. I realize you've already searched the entire area, so he is most likely to be somewhere far. And if he's not even in Hell? What will you do then?"

Charlie listened to her mother's concerns closely, eyes closing for a few moments to make sure she'd answer them with the correct facts.

"There wouldn't be anything to lose with this plan. All we need is the ring, Mom. You know I'll be extremely careful with it. Dad's not in the city or in any of the neighboring areas. We know that, so he must be somewhere. I don't know where Alastor could have taken him, but he has to be in Hell. I don't think he'd be on Earth and he definitely wouldn't be in heaven."  
She explained, squeezing her mother's hand lightly.  
"Your ring is our last hope in finding him, Mom. It's just a game of hot and cold on a massive scale."

Lilith sighed, thinking about it all for a moment before coming to her conclusive decision.

"Alright..."   
She whispered, gently taking off the ring and opening her daughter's hand, placing the small piece of jewelry right in the center.   
"I hope you know, that if the stone breaks or cracks in any way, what you're doing for your father will all be for nothing."   
She advised her daughter, looking between both her and Vaggie.  
"If hot and cold is your plan, then I fear it may take you girls' a long long time. But you have my blessing to do as you wish... and I hope you will be successful."

Charlie nodded, bringing the hand with the ring in it to her chest.  
"I know it won't be an overnight fix, but I know we can find him. You have my word, Mother."  
She stated before getting up off of the bed and headed for the door.  
"I'll give you updates as often as I can; and please. Stay safe."  
She added before leaving the room with Vaggie close behind.

***

Vaggie raised her chin as she looked across closely at both the Radio Demon and Angel Dust, trying to read them both as Charlie recounted the events of two years ago, everything having lead up to now.

"We knew it would take us a long time, but two years? I guess for it all to amount to this... it was worth it. For what you did to us, Radio Demon? I, for one, would have searched for _centuries_ if I had to."

Alastor was stood frozen with a smile, fearing the end outcome of the ex-princesses story. He was astounded- and not in a good way. Yet he wouldn't say anything. Not now. The deer already knew where this was going; but he would not run.

Angel could feel Alastor's uneasiness growing, placing a hand on the deer's back carefully as a small form of reassurance.

"Of course, it took us a while before we could come back home. A lot changed since we left, I'll give you credit for that, Alastor."  
Charlie spoke.  
"No one suspected you'd keep ties with Angel after taking the throne for yourself."

"Can we cut to the chase? We've got things to get to."  
Angel cut in suddenly, his irritation and overall unease showing all the more.

Vaggie rolled her eye in annoyance at the spider's comment, simply ignoring it as she looked over to Charlie briefly before returning her attention to the two overlords. 

"Two weeks ago. That was when we finally, after nearly _three years_ , found what we were looking for."   
Pausing, the moth demon looked across at her girlfriend, a tiny hint of a smile upon her face.   
"Breaking the prison you banished him to was equally as difficult, but Charlie had figured that one out too. The cold that followed was however, not what we were expecting."

Angel looked to Alastor for a moment as he slowly pieced it all together.  
"You mean... you found him and _he_ caused the snow and shit?"  
He spoke as his own fear began to boil over.   
If what they were saying was true, then they were truly and royally fucked.

"I'm kind of surprised you didn't link all of that together, Alastor. You and my Dad were really close, after all. You knew a lot about him and what he was- and still is capable of."  
Charlie smiled, her eyes flicking behind Angel and Alastor at the door that had slowly begun to open with a creak.

A set of glowing red eyes and a sharp, white grin was the only visible thing aside from a silhouette in the darkness from behind the doorframe.

"My my, they _both_ came? My luck really is changing as of late, isn't it."  
The being stated with a malicious tone, grin ever-growing.


	28. Checkmate (Epilogue)

The Radio Demon didn't have to think. The Radio Demon didn't have to see and he most certainly didn't even have to listen to those words coated with something sickly sweet to know what was happening; or rather, _who_ was happening.   
Alastor looked annoyed- no, perhaps that wasn't even going far enough. The Radio Demon was most certainly pissed off, his smile not displaying an ounce of mischief or even that slightly unsettling sort of joy it was usually paired with.

Vaggie took her girlfriend's hand as their surprise to their guests was revealed, the moth demon whispering in the other woman's ear that now was probably a good time to leave. Of course, there never was and never had been an actual deal that Charlie had wanted to make with Alastor. It was all a rouse and a trap. One that the mighty Radio Demon and his whore spider sidekick Angel Dust, had fallen right into.

The sound of footsteps emanated around the room as they slowly entered, hands slowly clapping together.   
"Ladies, you've done _wonderfully_. I'd appreciate it if you took your leave now. This won't be a very pretty sight."

Charlie gave a curt nod and in return took Vaggie's hand, pushing past the doomed overlords and reaching for her father, exchanging a few hushed words before the door finally closed again.

Breath hitching, Angel slowly began to turn to face their doom but within a split second was immediately thrown against the wall on the other side of the room before he could even confirm that this was truly happening; the breath being knocked violently from his lungs from the force, his body falling to the floor with a thud.

Before Alastor even had the chance to stop it all from happening and perhaps make a quick getaway, Angel was already across the way, a rather unpleasant sound echoing around the large open room as the arachnid hit the wall and then the floor.

"I must admit, Alastor, you've made quite the name for yourself while I was away. The vacation was quite lovely though."  
Lucifer began, malice thick in his words.

Alastor was still, keeping his chin up as part of his brain worked to come up with a solution to all of this, the other part keeping its undivided attention on Lucifer, watching his every move. Due to the bond, he knew his lover was alright and understood that the deer needed to keep his focus on their immediate threat.  
"It's certainly a shame your stay was cut quite short. Perhaps we could put an extension on that vacation?"   
The deer voiced, slowly beginning to turn around, his dress shoes echoing against the polished flooring.   
"It sounds to me... that you're quite upset about what I accomplished while you were 'away', hm? Not happy for me? Why that's awfully inconsiderate of you Lucifer, I thought you were better than that."

"Upset? Oh _please_ , how petty do you think I am?"  
Lucifer chuckled, snapping his fingers to which nothing really seemed to happen, however, that was far from the case.  
"If anything, I'm quite impressed! I really didn't think you had it in you, Edward."  
The ex-angel then aggressively waved his hand, sending Alastor to the other side of the room beside Angel, who was now struggling to get up and reaching for his lover.

"Do stay down, won't you? It'll make things so much smoother."  
Lucifer grinned as he sent the arachnid against the wall again, however, this time across the room and a little harder to join the deer; then brought his full attention back to the Radio Demon once he knew Angel Dust wouldn't be getting up for another few minutes.

"You've definitely proven yourself, Ed. I didn't think you had it in you to last this long as ruler. Very impressed!"  
Lucifer continued with a few claps of his hands in mock applause as he slowly approached.

Alastor was near enough expecting to be pushed further back into the room, so as it happened, he was able to stop himself from getting slammed against the wall, simply standing his ground beside Angel who was now laying on the floor again; and it hurt the deer deeply to see his lover in such a state, but it hopefully wouldn't be for long. Alastor's brain was still fighting to pull a plan out of a hat.

He was just about to reach out for the spider and help him up when Angel was violently thrown again, the Radio Demon's cool quickly dissolving as he snapped his fingers, and just like when Lucifer had- nothing happened. However... that wasn't supposed to happen; confusion was slowly settling in as Alastor snapped his fingers again, the shadowed souls of demons he'd made past deals with not appearing to aid him as was supposed to happen.   
"You've somehow stopped some of my abilities from working, haven't you? You think you'll win that way?"

Lucifer practically cackled at the deer's statement.  
"Oh, Eddie, I know I will win. Even if you had your little minions around, there would still be no chance of survival."  
That being said, the ex-angel held his hand out in front of him; his angelic spear materializing up from his palm.  
"Have you forgotten everything we've been through? Have you forgotten everything I shared with you? Well, then again, there were things I still hid from you, of course."  
Gripping the bright and glorious weapon, Lucifer twirled it a few times.  
"Now then. Let's get this over with, shall we? I've got a domain to completely reset to my own specifications."

Alastor knew that it was vital to conserve energy at a time like this, knowing that Lucifer wasn't going to be giving up so easily, so refrained from letting his true demonic form take over at the sight of the angelic weapon.   
"Oh I know there were things you hid from me; but you must understand, Lucifer, there were things I found out that you never knew about either."

Snapping his fingers, Alastor was rather pleased to find out that yes, his ability to teleport was still working, however, he presumed that he was constricted to the unfortunate confines of this room. Hardly convenient, but it would have to do.

Lucifer was quick to lunge forward and take a mighty swipe of the weapon, missing just barely as a few strands of Alastor's hair fell to the floor.

As Lucifer got close, Alastor made sure to dodge out of the way, slicing into his palm and summoning a few tentacles to put some distance between the two of them.

"Come now, surely you want this to be over quickly. Though the exercise _would_ do me some good and this _is_ rather fun, I will admit."  
Lucifer chuckled as he glided across the room towards where Angel was just beginning to find his breath and start to get up, his dress disheveled and hair askew.

The ex-angel glanced down at the spider for a moment with a raised brow before putting a foot on his back and forcing him back down to the floor.  
"I thought you'd take the hint to stay down, slut."  
Lucifer hissed out before turning his attention back to the Radio Demon, launching the spear directly at his chest.

"Do _not_ call him that."   
Alastor almost growled out, wincing greatly as he managed to dodge the spear, for the most part, it not lodging into his chest, however not without the sharp blade scraping his arm, ripping through the material of his suit and the first few layers of his skin.

The angelic spear was a huge danger. Whatever wounds it caused on another demon, they would not heal no matter what, unless done so by an angel. You could be a demon with an insane ability to heal, however, if an angelic weapon was to somehow strike you, your wound would continue to bleed until a second death condemned you once again.   
Grabbing the spear as it flew past him, Alastor threw it straight up into the air, the weapon disappearing into a void portal just above him.

Teleporting once again back over to Angel, Alastor gave him a quick once over. So long as he stayed out of the way, he'd be okay; but Alastor himself? He was beginning to tire.

"You'll be alright."   
The deer quickly whispered before teleporting back across the room again, this time with his lover in his arms, commanding his summoned tentacles to lunge for Lucifer, the radio static in the air slowly increasing in volume.

Angel was a little weak as he held onto Alastor, however at the physical contact, he could feel himself gaining energy as the rings on their fingers began to glow.

"I'm fine, but you need to find a way out."  
The spider breathed, cupping the deer's cheek.

Lucifer stood his ground, not even flinching as he was attacked. Each tentacle that made contact quickly turned into a bright light and dissolved into nothingness; and with every tentacle that was dissolved, Alastor felt every single one, the deer wincing before retracting the dark appendages, commanding the remaining ones to return to the ground, slithering back into the darkness.   
He was breathing heavily now, and while his arm had just a mere scratch, he feared that if Lucifer were to continue, his increasing fatigue would only worsen.

Extending his hand again, Lucifer summoned the spear once more and began slowly approaching the two.  
"How pathetic, Eddie. There's no need to act as you care about him here. You and I both know you'd never waste your time with such a silly game."

"It seems that you truly have missed quite a lot within these past years."   
Alastor huffed, running a hand through his hair and brushing his suit off a bit; and just as Lucifer started moving closer, Alastor stood his ground in front of his lover, chin raised and glowing eyes narrowed.   
"Things have changed, Lucifer. What you would call a waste of time, why, I consider it to be something entirely different."

"Clearly! I know you'd never bother yourself with attempting to save another being if your own life was on the line."  
The blonde replied with an almost amused chuckle.

Angel kept his hold on Alastor, focusing on looking around the room for any means of escape. The door was too obvious, so Lucifer probably had something set in place to where that was entirely useless. There were no windows either, so that wasn't an option.

"How's about a deal, Edward? That _was_ what you came here for, after all."  
Lucifer grinned, raising a brow as he strode closer, twirling the spear again.  
"I'll give you the chance to live. But you have to kill the spider. I know how much both of you would enjoy that."  
Pointing the sharp end of the spear to Angel Dust, he continued.  
"You'd get your masochistic desires fulfilled and die at the hand of your 'partner'-"  
Lucifer then brought the spear to just under Alastor's chin.  
"-and you would get the bloodshed you always enjoy. I'm sure this facade is getting tiresome and you want to put an end to it."

"You're wrong..."  
Angel spoke up, doing his best to keep himself from sounding weak and upset.

"Ahaha, facade."   
Alastor chuckled, raising a finger and tipping the pointed end of the spear away from his chin, not moving an inch from where he stood in front of Angel Dust.

"While yes, he is quite the little masochist and has undoubtedly thought about dying by my hand multiple times. And yes I am aware that my love for bloodshed in the most entertaining ways does drive many of my actions- I'm afraid _that_ , Lucifer, will not be happening tonight, or tomorrow, or even in years to come for that matter. Anthony and I are soul-bound; and even though I have the capacity to impale him and ravish his delectable flesh down to the bone, I must decline your... deal."   
Summoning his microphone this time, Alastor gripped it with both his hands, attempting to violently drive it into the side of Lucifer's head, trying to push the ex-angel backward.

"I'm not at all bothered by your choice. You're both going to die either way."  
Lucifer replied calmly as he was quick and swift to bring the spear's handle up to deflect Alastor's attempt; a loud clank sounding as their weapons harshly met.  
The blonde then grabbed the handle of the Radio Demon's cane and pulled him forward, driving the spear into the deer's shoulder with a maniacal grin.

Angel's eyes widened and gasped as Alastor was then impaled, pushing himself forward to grab hold of his lover as Lucifer proceeded to apply pressure into the weapon, shoving Alastor back into Angel's arms, leaving the blade in the deer's flesh.

It was unlike any other pain Alastor had felt during his entire existence, a pain easily on par with the extraction of his soul to create Angel's ring; and as the spear pierced through his flesh, the deer easily fell to the ground, being pushed back into Angel's arms with a groan of pain, static distorting his voice as his antlers began to grow upon his head with a crackling wood sort of sound.  
Gripping the end of the spear, the Radio Demon ruthlessly pulled it out of his shoulder with another shout, chucking it far across the room, his breathing quickening. Before the spear could get too far though, it shot right back into Lucifer's hand.

Angel hugged the deer close to him and used his lower set of hands to rip the bottom end of his skirt off, using it to apply pressure to his lover's wound, tying it tightly.   
"It's alright. You're gunna be okay."  
The spider muttered before he was struck upside the head with the end of the spear, causing him to fall back to the floor with an almost breathless groan.

Lucifer then did the same to Alastor with a laugh.  
"Seeing you so helpless is _so_ much fun, Ed, I must say! But time is running out."

Alastor mumbled a breathy thank you to Angel before his vision began to spin, head now pounding in light of the other injury that was inflicted to his head.   
"What... what do you want me to do. Kill him? That's... that's so boring of you. _Predictable_."   
Alastor spat, slowly placing a hand on top of Angel's and teleporting them across the room once again.

Black blood stained the Radio Demon's body, his hands, his face, and especially his shoulder where the nasty looking wound bled continuously even though the material of Angel's dress, showing no signs of stopping whatsoever.   
"You won't... get anything out of it. Not even satisfaction."   
Alastor could sense that his shadow was trying to reach him, however, that too was pretty much immobile thanks to Lucifer, the shadowed version of the Radio Demon confined to the back wall of the room, unable to move away.

Lucifer only chuckled, shaking his head a bit with a wide grin.  
"I don't think you'd want me to kill him. Especially if you _truly_ care for him. It'll be slow and agonizing for him and you'll just have to sit there and watch it all happen."  
He replied before driving the blade into the deer's thigh and soon propping himself up with it.

Yet another pained cry left the Radio Demon's mouth as his back arched, forearm resting over his face as he closed his eyes, barely even able to hear, let alone process what Lucifer was saying. He could feel his flesh around the thigh wound being eaten away by the angelic spear the longer it was left in, the sharp end ripping through every piece of muscle and even bone that the point was at inside his upper leg.

Angel tried to reach for Alastor's hand, tears welling up in his eyes as he heard his lover's cries. He couldn't do anything and never had felt so helpless; and that was really saying something. There was at least one thing he wanted to try to do but he was going to need to stay down and regain a little more strength before he could make the attempt.

"Last chance, Eddie."  
Lucifer warned, eyes narrowing in anticipation, teeth gleaming.

Alastor, for one, hadn't a plan. He wished he had, however with all means of escape he could offer, useless, there was nothing he could do; and while there was nothing more he loathed than losing- especially to Lucifer, he would not allow that man to kill his Angel.

"A-Alright..."  
Gently reaching for one of Angel's hands, Alastor squeezed it.   
"I'll... do it."

Angel closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face with a small smile of appreciation. This is how he wanted it to happen. He didn't want to die by anyone else's hand for any reason.

"A wonderful choice."  
Lucifer grinned and swiftly removed the spear from the deer's leg, the wound angry and festering. He then took a step back and flipped the weapon so Alastor could take it.

Alastor's hands were shaking like a leaf in the wind as he took ahold of the weapon. He was shaking partly from the pain he was in, and partly because he’d just been told to kill the one person he’d ever loved. His soulmate. Anthony.

Slowly gripping the end of the spear, Alastor hesitantly turned it in the direction of Angel, adjusting his hold on the handle. With what little strength the Radio Demon had, he leaned down, head resting beside his lover's as he gathered the will to speak, his own eyes beginning to gloss over.

“We’ll be together soon... I’m sorry. I love you so much, Anthony.”   
Alastor whispered right against Angel's head, unable to look as he drew his uninjured arm back with the spear, not needing to look to know that he was aiming straight for Angel's torso. The spear would drive through his chest and the pain would be no more. Alastor hoped it would be as quick as anything.

Angel's smile grew, his many arms wrapping around Alastor, his fingers running softly through his hair as a form of comfort. A consolation.  
"I'm not upset... I'm not scared. I love you so much, Edward."  
The spider whispered in return, his eyes cracking open to see that the spear was positioned to go right through his chest, destined to puncture into his soul and finally put the feared Angel Dust to rest.

And with that... Alastor drove the spear forwards.


	29. Post-Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the happy end.  
> We counted all of your tears and decided we have just enough to get us to give you all some closure.  
> This would be book 4, but we felt that we didn't have enough to make a full book, so here are all 4 chapters we managed to write all in one go.  
> Hopefully, it's worth the wait and hopefully, it's good enough.  
> Thank you for joining us on this adventure and for suffering through this series. We're glad you enjoyed it.
> 
> We began roleplaying November 28th, 2019, and finished May 28th, 2020.  
> It's crazy to think that we did all of this in a mere 6 months.
> 
> Thank you for reading and suffering with us. Many tears were shed on our part too, especially now that the series is over.
> 
> Stay tuned for our next work, coming soon.
> 
> T & K

  
  
**_ Death of the Past. _ **

** Chapter 1 **

And with that... Alastor drove the spear forwards. However... it didn't go through anything. It didn't go through Angel's chest fluff or even his flesh for that matter.

How, you ask? Well, Alastor's shadow, having been confined to the wall thanks to Lucifer's power, had decided to stall and knock a rather large painting off of where it was mounted on the back wall. That, in turn, immediately grabbed Lucifer's attention right before he was to make his final move, having been watching the two demons on the ground before him in disgust at the pathetic words leaving their lips.

Having noticed the diversion which had seemed to work, Angel's eyes darted to look across at Lucifer who was now distracted. Without a second thought, a plan already in mind, the spider tightened his grip on his lover and within a split second of Alastor beginning to drive the spear forwards, had opened a void portal directly below them. He'd finally managed to recover enough strength to do so.   
It was certainly a long shot as to whether this would work or not, but once they were fully engulfed by darkness, the hole now above them closed.

As they fell, the spear that had been in Alastor's grip clattered to the ground of the ballroom they'd _just_ been in, both Alastor and Angel now nowhere to be seen.

It had all happened so quickly, that by the time Lucifer turned around again, his victims were long gone, the empty angelic spear laying on the ground where they had been.   
"How- ...oh, Luci, you _imbecile!_ "   
He scolded himself with a groan and a shake of his head, now simply standing in the room, beginning to come up with a new plan.

***

Alastor's weak grip that he had around Angel slowly loosened the moment they hit the floor of their destination, the Radio Demon's body unable to hold out any more as he let himself fall into unconsciousness, body going limp.

As for the Radio Demon's shadow, it was able to simply slip away once Alastor himself had disappeared into the void, the shadow reappearing back at the Radio Demon's home, slowly fading out as Alastor fell unconscious.

Angel's back hit the floor and he looked around, tears streaming down his face as he took note that they were safe... for now. They were home.  
Still, in a panic, Angel began to sit up but immediately noticed that Alastor wasn't moving.

"Ed... Edward, we're safe."  
He said as he shook his lover a bit... but there was no response, the deer's body still bleeding profusely. From behind him, the sound of hooves trotting along in the hallway drew closer.

After flipping the deer onto his back, Angel started ripping into his clothing more, wrapping the material around Alastor's wounds tightly, doing his best to keep his injuries from bleeding out any more.

He then got up as Fat Nuggets came into the room and sat by the unconscious Radio Demon, Angel gathering a couple of important items from around their bedroom and a familiar old book from Alastor's bookshelves, flipping it open to the page that he needed.   
He hadn't done this himself before, but he'd watched Alastor do it many a time, and it was, unfortunately, their best bet at ensuring their safety.

With shaking hands, Angel hastily set everything up in a circle close to Alastor's body and Fat Nuggets.

Standing next to the circle of candles around the predawn pentagram then kneeling down beside the two, Angel slowly began to chant. He made sure to be precise with his pronunciation. They only had so much time, and to do it more than once wasn't ideal.

From inside the circle, a portal of flames began to open, Angel not wasting a second as he set the book under one of his arms, grabbing Alastor and his pet in the other set and dragging them into the portal without a second thought.

For now, it seemed that both Angel and Alastor were out of imminent danger, however, Lucifer was a restless and unrelenting devil. Any chance of sticking around Hell would most likely end in erasure if Lucifer had anything to say about it.

As the two demons bodies fell through the dark of the portal into the light, a forceful cold suddenly embraced them and pig as the portal spat them out. A frozen white blanket hugged their now human bodies as Angel held the bleeding heap in his one pair of arms, Fat Nuggets shivering in his lap, snorting at the unexpected cold.

Alastor's bloody injuries unfortunately transferred to his human form, the blood still flowing, however now crimson red rather than the black it had been.

And the location that they were to end up at? That was a mystery too. It had been Angel's first time opening the portal to Earth, meaning the location of their ascent from Hell was going to be random. If it had been Alastor creating the portal, then things would have been simpler, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

"We're safe now, Edward, please wake up!"  
Angel cried out, doing his best to keep the pressure on the wounds as he hugged Alastor tightly, red now seeping into the snow beneath them.   
"Why won't it _stop!?_ "

He then grabbed a few handfuls of snow and began to lightly put them over the bleeding wounds in hopes it might slow it down even slightly. As he did that, he turned his head, looking around frantically for any sign or anyone or anything that could help them. But, being completely surrounded by nothing but endless snow and mountains, it seemed like calling for help was going to be pointless. No one was coming.

There was no snow currently falling, but it was rather cloudy, specs of sunlight pushing through the clouds until eventually the sun was finally fully exposed, its warm rays shining down on the two demons; and from a near distance, the sound of crunching snow could suddenly be heard as if someone was approaching.

Angel's head shot up, immediately looking around for the source of the crunching footsteps.

"Hello?! Please, _God_ , if someone's there, I need help!"   
He pleaded loudly, voice shaking, making sure to keep both Alastor and Fat Nuggets close to him in case the source of the approaching footsteps was a threat.   
Suddenly, the clouds once again consumed the bright light of the sun, leaving them in the dull, cold light of the clouds.

There, slowly ascending up the side of the slope Angel was sat upon, came a person. One that Angel didn't register as being familiar due to the tears clouding his vision as he kept Alastor close, his lovers breathing visibly shallow, his body still limp.

"Anthony?"  
The voice was familiar as well, but that didn't matter to the spider right now.

"Please, _please_ help him..."   
Angel sobbed, looking down at his lover's body again, tears practically freezing to his face by this point, his own body quite bruised as well, but he didn't care. Not when Alastor was like this. The cold seemed to help slow the bleeding but not by much. Alastor was still very much wounded and was barely holding out.

"Anthony, what's happened? Why are you here?"  
The mysterious being asked softly as they knelt beside them, Angel hesitantly letting the person examine the Radio Demon while keeping him as close as he possibly could.

"Lucifer- he came back and hurt Ed real bad... please tell me you can help. The bleeding won't stop... I dunno why..."   
Whether any of that was going to make sense to this person was beyond Angel, but none of that mattered to him right now. They asked what had happened and he sure as hell wasn't in any headspace to pull something out of his ass that would explain anything and make sense.

"Lucifer? It must have been a weapon he used. It was a heavenly spear, wasn't it?"   
The being spoke calmly, already knowing the answer to which Angel nodded in response despite picking up the sense that the question was rhetorical.

" _Please_ tell me you can save him. I got nothin' to patch 'im up with... per favore, aiuta l'amore della mia vita. Non posso perderlo."  
Angel cried even harder, his words barely audible over his sobs as he cupped Alastor's cold and now pale cheek as the other carefully looked over the wounds.

"His leg will have to be treated first. It's had more exposure than his shoulder."  
They stated more to themselves, it seemed, as they carefully removed the fabric from the victim's flesh so they could get clear and direct access to the wound.

Angel made sure to closely watch their hands to make sure they weren't about to make the situation worse.

The being stayed quiet as they placed their hands over the cold and bleeding flesh in silence, a tiny white glow emitting from beneath their hands. The flow of blood seemed to slow and eventually stop altogether, the savior slowly lifting their hands to reveal the wound had been somewhat healed, leaving a nasty scar, however.

"Unfortunately the weapon used was that of an Archangel. If it were just a Powers' weapon, I'd be able to restore it completely. This will need constant attention for quite some time if it's to remain fully healed. It was quite a nasty injury. They both are."  
The being stated as they now moved their bloody hands to Alastor's shoulder, once again removing the cloth covering and placing their hands over the wound there.

Angel finally took this opportunity to see who this savior of a stranger was. It had just hit him that this _wasn't_ just some random person. This person knew of Lucifer and seemed to know what they were talking about. Not to mention the fact that they had just healed one of Alastor's wounds and was now healing the second, plus they knew his name. Something that screamed rather 'strange', considering where they were right now.

As the arachnid's eyes watched the being's hands, he took note that the hands were very masculine and very familiar. His eyes then trailed up the being's arms and saw that they were wearing no more than a thin white dress shirt and white pants. Then his eyes landed on the being's face. It took him a moment to really register who he was seeing.  
That brown hair and those kind hazel eyes. Aside from the clothes, this being was just as Angel remembered them the day they'd proposed and died right in front of him only moments apart.

"James...?"  
Angel whispered softly, voice cracking a little as tears began to well right back up again in the corners of his eyes.

Their savior glanced up into Angel's eyes for a moment, a small smile finding its way to their features.  
"Hello, Anthony."  
James replied before placing his focus back down to Alastor's shoulder.

Angel could tell he was trying to focus, so he kept his questions at bay until James finally removed his hands from the now healed and scarred flesh of the Radio Demon.

"Why are you here? How did you know we were-?"  
Angel began but was cut off by James raising his hand a little and a shake of his head.

"I'm here because we were notified of two demons with the potential to cause harm and chaos that had just arrived on Earth. I was sent to investigate and eradicate if necessary."  
The angel began, only to be cut off by the one conscious demon.

"I'm beggin' you, please, we don't want to cause any problems here. It was either we come here or we were erased and killed and I couldn't just sit back and watch Ed die like that."

"I believe _you_ , Anthony, however, Edward is a different story. His sins are far too extensive and questionable, thereby making me wary of his intentions once he awakens. Now, until then, I will take you somewhere safe and keep a close eye on you both. This hardly seems a suitable place to rest. I shall not send you back, for now."   
James replied, holding his arms out in front of him as if asking permission to take Alastor from Angel.

Angel was naturally hesitant at first but had no reason not to trust this literal godsend, the demon then carefully transferred his still unconscious lover into James's arms with a hoarse thanks.

James was extremely careful as he took the Radio Demon into his hold and stood, looking to the sky for a moment and then down at Angel Dust.  
"Come, Anthony. I promise you're both safe."

Angel blinked a few times and looked down at Fat Nuggets who was shivering in his lap, little ears folded down and nose stuffed into its chest to conserve heat.  
Now that all had calmed down a fair amount, the cold was finally hitting Angel and it seemed that the pig was about ready to freeze to death.

Standing, the spider held the pig close to his body and even opened his shirt, putting the animal against his skin to keep it warm. It was a fair bit bigger than Angel knew it to be, but that was because he was no longer an eight-foot spider demon. He was a tiny human compared to that, standing at a mere five-foot-eight.

Carefully linking arms with James, Angel looked up at him and gave a small nod.  
"Ready..."   
He stated, James giving a nod of understanding before a large pair of bright and pure white wings sprouted from his back and with one mighty beat, it sent them all up into the clouded sky, their destination a familiar place upon Angel Dust's request.

  
  
  
** Chapter 2 **

Alastor had of course been unintentionally unconscious before in his existence, however only a small handful of times. It wasn't often that he lost a fight, especially to the point of unconsciousness. Due to the extent of his injuries and the circumstances that all of them had been inflicted upon him in, Alastor supposed that also played a factor in him not having woken up sooner, the Radio Demon assuming that he had been out for a while once he finally did come round.

That weak state Alastor felt himself in as his eyes opened, vision blurred, was something that he hated. Where _was_ he exactly? He hadn't the faintest idea. However from across the room, just within Alastor's limited vision right now, a blurred figure was moving; meaning wherever he was; he wasn't alone. It was most likely Anthony. He _hoped_ it was, at least.

If his aching limbs and pained shoulder were anything to go by, Alastor would say that he'd been healed at least to some extent, given that he wasn't dead and the wounds weren't as painful as what they had been shortly after they'd been inflicted, but that brought up even more confusion- as did his exact location. It definitely wasn't his home down in Hell.   
"Where-"   
His voice croaked out, the deer hardly sounding like himself as he cleared his throat and slowly rose to his elbows, right upper arm shaking painfully with the effort.   
"Anthony?"

As soon and Angel heard his lover's voice and efforts, his eyes darted over from the book he sat reading silently, immediately feeling tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"No no no, don't get up, Ed..."  
He stated softly as he moved closer, kneeling beside the bed and carefully helping Alastor lay back down again.

It had been ten days since they had arrived, Alastor not having moved at all during that time; not even a twitch of a finger. Angel didn't leave his partner's side even for a second, scared that if he left the room for anything, Alastor would somehow disappear.

He had James take them to a place he knew would be safe for them; Alastor's home on Earth. Of course, it was run down and wasn't in an ideal condition for someone injured to be resting, but Angel couldn't think of anywhere else.

"Everything's alright... god, I was so scared y'wouldn't wake up again..."  
Angel sniffed, taking Alastor's hand to place a careful kiss to his knuckles with a smile; dimples very much there like they'd always been with his human form and green eyes shining brightly in the afternoon sun that shone through the tattered sheer curtains hanging over the window.

With his vision still not completely there and his senses also not all working yet it seemed, Alastor had yet to recognize his surroundings.   
But, as he heard his lover's voice for the first time in what felt like a while, the deer found that usual smile of his slowly pulling up his lips.

When he was suddenly greeted by those wonderfully familiar green eyes that shone down at him, it was then that Alastor realized they weren't in Hell at all. No, they were on Earth.  
"You... you're human?"   
Alastor breathed out in pleasant surprise, reaching a hand forwards and gently cupping Angel's jaw, rubbing a thumb lightly over the dimpled cheek of his lover.   
"Why are we here... what- _how_ are we here? Are you alright?"   
Finally, it seemed the panic was starting to set in, Alastor beginning to recount the events that had happened before he fell unconscious.

Angel just smiled and leaned into the Radio Demon's touch, cupping his cheek in return.  
"Ssshhhhh... don't worry. Everything's okay now. We're both safe."  
He replied softly.  
"Just relax and I'll tell you what happened, alright?"  
The spider then sat himself up on the edge of the bed with a sigh.   
"You passed out as soon as we got outta Lucifer's way. I brought us here- okay, I took us to a remote snowy area and James showed up, healed you, and then brought us here so you could rest. We've gotta talk about our options before we can really do anything, but I didn't wanna make any serious decisions without you."  
He explained, fixing the thin sheet that covered Alastor's mostly bare body.   
He seemed to be really warm, so both James and Angel Dust thought it best for his partner to have as few layers as possible. It was normal, according to James, the healing having a warming effect on one's body.

Keeping himself laying down as asked, Alastor closely listened to what Angel had to say.   
He still didn't know how long he'd been out for yet, but this rather quick planning on Angel's part must have worked somehow since they weren't dead. Not to mention, Angel had taken into account the important factor that Lucifer literally couldn't go up to Earth, even if he was desperate to.

"So, _James_ helped us?"   
Alastor eventually asked after having taken a moment or two to gather his thoughts on what Angel had just told him, his mind still rather slow currently.   
Looking down at himself, Alastor nodded at the thin sheet, definitely thankful for that, he was already feeling quite warm.   
"Is there anything he wants from us in return for his aid? I understand that angels are usually the type to _not_ give conditions, however, we are demons after all. To be quite frank, my dear, we shouldn't even be here. But at the same time, I am extremely thankful to you that we are."

"When you're rested enough, James will go over everything with us. There _are_ conditions but I told him to wait, seein' as I was gunna be by your side the whole time and not cause trouble." Angel replied softly.  
"But aside from that, how are ya feelin'? Still hurtin'?"  
He then asked, carefully running his fingers over the raised skin on Alastor's shoulder where the angelic spear once was. His expression became full of thought with a hint of remorse, tears once more threatening his eyes at the mere thought of his beloved almost dying along with everything else that had happened to the Radio Demon in such a short timeframe.

Alastor slowly gave a nod, but still managed a smile, looking down at Angel's careful fingers that ran over the raised skin of his shoulder wound. Everything around his shoulder and thigh area especially still ached, and while the rest of his limbs were slightly stiff, he knew everything would fix in time and with rest.

"It hurts a bit, but nothing too unbearable."   
He smiled, appreciating everything that Angel had done for him thus far. Especially for saving him; but it was at the slight sign of tears that glossed over Angel's eyes that Alastor frowned.

"What about you, my dear? Are _you_ alright? I understand you sustained quite a few injuries as well. And I apologize gravely for almost being the one to have erased you... I couldn't let it have been done by him. Even now, a pang of great guilt fills me when I think about it."

Angel shook his head and smiled once again.  
"I'm fine. And no, it ain't that. I wouldn't've wanted it any other way anyway. I just wish it didn't have t'come to that. To _this_."  
He explained, now looking into Alastor's brown eyes again.   
"I can't believe we missed such a critical detail..."

After a small pause, Angel could hear the creaking of floorboards just outside of the room, causing him to quickly dry his teary eyes with his sleeve and glance towards the door.

The door quietly knocked before opening, James poking his head inside with a smile.  
"Ah, you're awake."   
He stated before stepping into the room.  
"How are you feeling, my friend? You're looking quite well compared to the state I found you in, if I do say so myself."  
The angel continued, moving closer to the bed where the two demons sat.

Alastor was just about to voice his own thoughts on the matter at hand, perhaps try to comfort his lover, however as the angel stepped in through the door, Alastor paused. He had every right to be skeptical, of course.

"Why yes, I'm doing quite well, haha!"   
The Radio Demon spoke cheerfully, putting on that painfully large looking smile, even if it wasn't half as terrifying as what it had been with his demon form.   
"I should be up in no time. There's no use laying around when there's quite obviously a lot to do!"

"Ah, good, I'm glad to hear it. Now, there is no rush for this but the three-"  
James glanced down to Fat Nuggets with a raised brow, who was sitting on his feet, nibbling away at the angel's white trousers.  
"... _four_ , I suppose, have some things to discuss if you are to remain here."  
He stated.  
"When you are ready, of course. I don't think you'll be able to stand long enough to cause any issues _just_ yet and Anthony has already stated that he won't be leaving your side for any reason."

Angel gave a nod in response, confirming what James was saying. He knew Alastor wasn't going to be entirely trusting of the angel just yet, never having even seen him before.

Alastor had figured that there would be conditions to this, presuming _that_ was what James was talking about of course when he implied there were 'things to discuss.'   
"Any issues? Why I'll think you'll find I am a fairly reasonable man who hardly causes any issues for others."   
Said with a slight smugness behind his words, Alastor finally managed to sit up, the rather uncomfortable frame of a bed beneath him hardly ideal.

"Now, I assume the both of you must be hungry. Especially you, Edward, having been out quite some time. Any requests?"

Now that James had mentioned it, Alastor was slowly starting to realize how starved he was feeling.   
"I, for one, am not fussed as to what I eat. Anthony, is there perhaps anything you would want? If not, then I think it's safe to say, surprise us!"   
Alastor asked, to which Angel replied with another shake of his head.

"I'll be back in a jiffy then."  
And with that, James left the room and closed the door behind him so the two demons could continue whatever conversation they were having prior.

Once James had let them be, Alastor's excessive smile dropped, the deer sighing as he gazed into those intense pools of green, the sort of eyes that simply pulled you in no matter how briefly you glanced at them for.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine, Ed."  
Angel stated, taking his lover's hand as he turned his gaze towards Alastor.  
"I trust him."  
He stated before looking down at the pig, who now sat at his feet.  
"Besides. What other choice do we really have?"

Squeezing Angel's hand back with a nod, Alastor supposed there wasn't much they could do.   
"I agree, things on our part do seem quite hopeless, and while I would usually never trust a being such as an angel, you're right. What other choice do we have?"

If James allowed it, then it seemed Angel and Alastor would both be stuck on Earth for quite a while, if not, indefinitely.   
"Do... you think you'd be happy here? I wouldn't want you _not_ to be. And if you feel that you won't be, then I promise my dear, to do _everything_ in my power to change that. I know this place isn't Hell, and it's most certainly not the Earth you or I remember anymore."

Angel couldn't help but smile, shifting so he was laying down beside the deer, making sure that their eyes stayed locked with each other. Cupping Alastor's cheek, the spider took a breath, appreciating everything his lover was willing to do for him.

"As long as we're together, it's all the Hell I could ever want. You're my home. Don't matter where we are. You're my final answer, remember?"  
Angel stated before leaning in and gently kissing Alastor, their human lips feeling strange against each other, but not unpleasant in the least. It was definitely something Angel missed since their last kiss as humans all that time ago when they confessed their feelings for each other.

Alastor's smile very quickly returned to his face at his lover's words, truly wondering how this had all happened as Angel cupped his cheek, and then kissed his lips, the two of them holding it for a few moments.  
While the environment wasn't the same as their beach, the feeling was certainly still there, one akin to their last kiss as humans, a kiss that had changed everything between them. A kiss that meant all the world and all of Hell to them both.

As the two of them lay there, Alastor's hand once again squeezed Angel's, thumb rubbing over the ring that he still felt upon his lover's finger. He was relieved that it was still there after their trip here; and Alastor supposed his own was too.   
"You are my final answer as well..."

Angel stayed silent as they simply looked at each other, no one words needed now as they took in each other's possibly permanent forms.  
Eventually though, a thought came to the spiders mind.  
"So...does this place look at all familiar to ya?"  
He asked, quickly glancing around the room.  
"I felt this was gunna be the safest place for us while ya got your rest. Not to mention the comfort it's probably got for ya."  
He added.

As the question was asked, Alastor took a second to quickly look around again.   
"I thought it looked familiar, yes, but then I also thought why would James take an injured being to an abandoned building, hah. But I thank you, Anthony. It _is_ bringing me comfort being here."   
He smiled once more, now looking down at his own ring.   
Somehow, the metal band had shrunk down to fit the size of his human hands, but to be quite frank, Alastor didn't care too much. So long as it was still there with him, then that was all that mattered.

"I don't see how we can stay here though, my dear. I most definitely do not own this property anymore, or at least the land that it's standing on and has behind it. Not to mention, such a rotting thing would have to be torn down before being able to be lived in again. And I don't know about you, but I haven't the slightest idea how to build a house."   
Alastor chuckled softly at that last part, sighing as he reached out for Angel's hair, pushing the dirty blonde strands out of his face.  
"I do hope I can somehow retrieve some of my belongings though. There are some things, as you know, that I _cannot_ leave down there in Hell."

"James said he had an idea of how he can help us but we'd all have to sit and have a serious discussion seein' as I didn't wanna commit to a plan without you."  
The spider replied softly, watching the Radio Demon's hands, smiling and leaning into the contact a bit, eyes closing for a moment or two.  
"As long as you're careful. I know we'll be able t'make all this work."

There were many things to take into consideration, of course. Earth was no longer a place for Angel and Alastor, so that meant if they were to stay, there was going to be a large learning curve on both of their parts.   
"It's like you said. We'll be alright. I'm positive James has a plan for us and wouldn't simply send us to our immediate deaths back down in Hell. He'll want to make a deal of sorts; and if there's one thing I'm excellent at, then it's creating a deal that's in our best interest of course."   
He spoke somewhat proudly, slowly managing to sit up a little more.

"How long was I out for? What did you do while you waited?"   
Alastor, clearly, had many questions still, and no doubt Angel did too. Some Alastor hoped Angel would be able to answer, and others? Well, it was simply a matter of time. James would tell them what was to become of them.

Angel took a breath, recalling how long the Radio Demon was unconscious for. All of the worry that had taken hold during all of that, as well.

"Ten days... I didn't really do much of anything, honestly. Just read some books that James brought for me. Sat and made sure you were still breathin' for the most part."  
He replied with a bit of a shrug, looking into Alastor's brown eyes again.

If he was completely honest, there were times when the spider woke up from a brief nap, forgetting where he was or what had happened; so when he looked around and saw Alastor's unfamiliar form laying in the bed next to him, he did have some panic.

Alastor slowly nodded, his gaze wandering down to the floor for a moment.   
"Hm, I see. Ten days is an awfully long time to be out. It's a good thing you were watching me- once again, thank you, Anthony. I can't even thank you enough really."   
When Alastor said that, he truly meant it.

Quickly looking back across at his lover, the deer reached an arm out, pulling Angel in for a hug as best he could without using too much of his fragile strength. But nonetheless, did the hug feel good, the deer glad to be back with his lover in a safe environment after having almost lost him. Permanently too. Nothing scared Alastor more than that. Terrified him even.   
"I suppose, just seeing your face again- you're alive and well, and it makes me very happy my darling."

Angel smiled and wrapped his arms around his lover in an almost protective manner, running his fingers through those soft brown locks, the deer leaning into Angel's embrace. Even though it was only one pair of arms, it was still Angel.

"Seeing you wake up and hearing your voice makes me happy, Ed."  
He replied with a kiss to Alastor's forehead just as the sound of footsteps emitted from the hallway once again followed by a knock; James stepping in again shortly after.

It was at the forehead kiss that Alastor was about to reply before once again James walked into the room. But that was good, the deer supposed. At least now they'd finally be able to talk all of this through.

"Hopefully this will do."  
The angel stated, holding two bowls of a steaming meal, setting them down on the nightstand.  
"Now, as you eat, I will explain somethings to you, if you wouldn't mind."  
James began, situating himself a bit of a distance away from the demons.

At the smell of the meal James had brought them, Alastor's stomach began to rumble, reminding the deer of his hunger.   
"Yes, I am quite curious as to what you have to say."

Angel was quick to grab one of the bowls after letting go of Alastor and sitting up.   
"Guess it would be best to get all the outta the way."  
The spider replied, taking a spoonful for himself to make sure it wasn't too hot or even poisoned before helping Alastor sit up so he could properly feed him.

Alastor thanked Angel as he helped him sit up.   
"Anthony, it's alright. You eat too before it gets cold. I'm sure I'll manage."   
Reaching for the bowl, Alastor brought it in close to him. He didn't like seeming so weak in front of James like this, so while his grinning smile persisted, the deer supposed that would have to do for now.

"Don't be stubborn. You need this more than I do so shut up and let me help you, damn it."  
Angel sighed and rolled his eyes with a shake of his head, letting Alastor at least hold the bowl while he took the spoon and held it to his mouth.

Rolling his eyes back at Angel's stubbornness in turn, Alastor simply went along with it, knowing that the spider wouldn't let up until all of the food was finished.

"Yes, well, to start this conversation off, I think it wise to start by asking the two of you what _you'd_ like to do. I have come up with numerous plans, however only a few seem to be ideal."  
James explained, his hands neatly tucked behind his back.

"Just give us your ideas and we'll work offa those."  
Angel replied.

"Very well."  
The angelic being cleared his throat and brought his hands out in front of him, various folders falling into them out of nowhere as he took a seat in the chair Angel was in before having moved to be closer to his lover.

"A few ground rules to start us off though. There are only so many miracles I can grant in a day and I do have others I have to watch over. That is my job. If I go over my limit, I will be questioned and put at risk for temporary leave; so please only ask for realistic and necessary things. I will be checking in three times a day to start, then gradually decrease the number of visits as you progress and merge with modern-day society."  
James then flicked through some of the papers inside of one of the folders.  
"You are to avoid sin and magic as much as you possibly can, otherwise it is likely you will be found out by my superiors and the consequences will be dire for the two of you and myself as well."

As James began to explain the ground rules, Alastor raised a brow, the cogs in his brain turning as he began to process the words.   
"When you say to avoid sin."   
Alastor began, pausing his meal, chin raising as he looked over at James.   
"Many things count as such. You'll have to be more specific. Gluttony, for example. There are a few who consider that to be a sin and I'm quite positive that is not what you mean."

As for fitting in within modern society, even with aspects of the modern age down in Hell, Alastor did not participate when he was down there, so he hardly thought that he would be integrating himself into modern society amongst humans either.

James held out his hand once again, a very thick book falling into his palm.   
"I thought you'd be smart enough to know what a reasonable sin is. Though if you don't, this book will help immensely. I could read it to you when we are finished discussing the plans if you'd like."  
James replied, setting the book down on the nightstand beside the second bowl of food.  
"Speaking of plans, let's get started, shall we? Plan A, I relocate you to another country and help you find a place to call home. Plan B, you can stay here in this place. Of course, I'll help fix it up. Plan C-"

"I kinda like the sound of B."  
Angel stated, causing James to pause, both looking to Alastor for his opinion.

Alastor looked across to Angel as his lover replied to James's suggestions, the deer rather surprised by Angel's answer.   
Of course, Alastor wasn't opposed to that idea at all. This place had been his home long in the past, and to him, it felt like a second home, so to be able to share it with Angel would mean a lot. Then again, if it was not meant to be, then Alastor was also not opposed to relocating countries either, however, he hadn't an idea as to how the countries had changed over the years either. At least with this current home, it was familiar.

"Well if you're sure, my dear, then I am not opposed to that option in the slightest. We can do whatever you'd like."   
He nodded, smiling a little across at Angel before turning his attention once more to James and the large book that now sat upon the side of the nightstand.   
"If this place is to be restored. How would it's sudden and very quick restoration be explained to any humans residing nearby? And surely a human must own this land now, no?"

James simply smiled and shook his head.  
"No, this land is owned by the bank. They don't advertise it because of the history you supplied for it, thus no one wanting it."  
The angel explained.

Alastor couldn't help but grin a little at the notion of no one having brought this house in decades due to the history that the Radio Demon had so graciously brought upon it.

"As for the restoration, the inside can be fixed first, and then we can slowly work on the outside, assuming you won't be having anyone inside, that is."

Angel shook his head.  
"No, I don't think we'll be havin' visitors. But if you wanna do one room at a time just in case, that'll be fine too."

"Hm, yes, I hardly think we shall be having any sort of visitors."   
Alastor agreed.

James gave a nod.  
"I would probably benefit from that quite a bit, actually. A miracle can only go so far, after all."  
He stated, letting the folders disappear once again.  
"Now that's all figured out, which room would you like me to restore first? After that, I will prepare your documents and register you as American citizens again."

Watching the folders as they disappeared, Alastor once again raised a brow at James' next words, eyes narrowing.   
"Ah yes. And I assume you'll be changing the numbers of both of our birth dates, naturally."   
And while he would certainly never be one to put an angel up on a pedestal, all these so-called miracles James was planning were quite impressive. Alastor hadn't ever been too sure what the extent of all of that was before, but now he had a pretty good idea and it was very interesting indeed.

"The years, yes. If you'd like to change the day and month as well, I'll be able to do that for you but only once."  
The angel replied.

Angel gave Alastor the last spoonful of food before setting the empty bowl down and picking up the second one, starting to eat himself.  
"Can you actually do two rooms?"

James raised a brow.  
"I could, yes. The day is nearly over and I still have a few miracles left over."

"This room and the kitchen."  
The spider stated.

Alastor agreed with Angel's decision of course since it made sense. Alastor most likely wouldn't be moving from this room too soon, and a kitchen was a necessity, so if those two rooms were finished first, that worked well.

James gave a nod and rolled up the sleeves of his pure white dress shirt, taking a breath.   
"Is there anything else you will need before I leave you for the night?"

"Actually, there is perhaps one thing I am curious about."   
Alastor quickly spoke up before James had the chance to move on.   
"I have some rather... precious belongings that are still at my residence down in Hell. Books in particular, as well as a few sentimental tokens. Would there perhaps be a way for me to retrieve them without Lucifer knowing of either of our presences down there?"   
He asked, gesturing towards both himself and Angel, knowing that his lover also had belongings down there too.

James did have to pause at that. It was a reasonable request to make.   
"Well..."  
He had to think about that. The sooner they got that done, the better, assuming Lucifer hadn't wrecked everything already.  
"The extermination would probably be our best bet for going in undetected. However, that isn't for another few months. If you need them now, I could perhaps take you down for very quick retrieval. No more than five minutes though."  
James replied simply.   
"When do you think you'll be in decent enough state to go down?"

The extermination did make sense, Lucifer not being one to leave his residence during that short time period, however, it was as James said- still a few months away and the belongings in Alastor's house, some of them, were the sort of artifacts that would be quite disastrous if another overlord or even Lucifer himself were to find them.   
"Give me a week at most, and I'd say I'll be back on my feet."

The majority of Alastor's wounds had been mostly healed by the angel, so it was simply just the aching that they still gave that needed to be healed. That and Alastor didn't want to risk the wounds opening back up again.   
"I doubt a five-minute trip will be enough, however for now it will be enough. If need be, returning during an extermination is our best bet in a few months time."

"I'll increase the rate of your treatments then. Hopefully, it'll get us to that point sooner."  
James replied before carefully placing a hand on one of the walls of the room.   
It took a few moments before he started gliding his hand across the surface and the wall began to restore itself right down to the wallpapering, wherever the angel touched,   
If James was honest, miracles of this level were quite exhausting, so he was thankful he wasn't asked to restore everything right away.

Angel watched in amazement as everything came together again. He'd watched James perform this before on the bed Alastor was laying on and saw the bathroom be restored too, but he was exhausted then and really couldn't hold in much information.

Alastor watched in slight awe, eyes a little wide as the inside of his room began to come to life again, the colors of the wallpaper, wooden floorboards, and even the furniture that he remembered, all being restored upon James's command. No longer was the inside of the room decayed, rotten and damp, but it looked like a room, and nothing had changed at all. Alastor was willing to bet that even the clothing that had been left in the now restored closet was as good as new, no longer damaged from the damp and moldy conditions of the ruined house over the many decades.

"Why... I have to say. That's an awfully good job you've done."   
The deer nodded, the appreciation clear in his tone as James finished.

James needed to take a breath once all had been completed but flashed them a smile nonetheless.  
"I'm glad you appreciate it. Now, I will move down to the kitchen and make sure everything down there is put together, then come back and give you one last treatment. Tomorrow morning, I will return and fix the stairs and another room for you. I will also bring some food so you can cook for yourselves. A list would be nice to have."  
James stated before heading for the door once again after grabbing the now empty bowls.

Alastor thanked James one last time as the angel exited the room, the deer letting out a breath and laying back down again properly.

Angel waited until James had closed the door before standing up and looking around the room.   
"This is what it was like?"  
He asked, feeling the original paint and wallpaper on the wall.

Looking across at Angel as he took a glance around the room, Alastor nodded.   
"Yes, it's the same as what it was when I left it the day I died. Nothing is out of place."   
He explained, still in awe at how the room looked. It brought back many memories.

"Since we are going to be living here for the foreseeable future, I understand if you would like to modernize the house a little. But for now, this will do."

Angel smiled a little, making his way back over to the bed.  
"Maybe a little. Haven't seen the rest of the house so this room might stay the way it is."  
He explained as he laid down next to the Radio Demon, rubbing his eyes a bit.  
The meal was filling and was starting to make him tired.

"I think we're gunna be just fine here..."  
The spider said, voice soft and quickly filling with a tired tone.

Alastor too was feeling quite exhausted, even though he physically hadn't done anything since waking up after ten days. Using what strength he had, the deer managed to push himself closer to Angel on the bed, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his cheek.   
"Yes my dear, I think we will. It's not Hell, and it's not what we're used to, however, it's certainly better than the alternative of a permanent death."   
Alastor nodded, eyes closing briefly.

Angel nodded and smiled a little more, wrapping his one and only set of arms around his partner.  
"Get some more rest. James'll be back soon before leavin' for the night. I'm so glad you're alive..."  
He then gave Alastor's lips a quick kiss.

That was the honest truth, too. Many times was he afraid that Alastor wouldn't wake up again. Afraid that he'd have to venture out on his own again and eventually die a second death once his loneliness and guilt consumed him, but that wasn't the case and he couldn't have been happier. This was a second chance for them. One that Angel planned to take full advantage of and do all the things he wanted to do during his first chance, but never could.

Alastor couldn't help but smile, chest rising and falling a little slowly as he began to drift off, his lover safe and beside him.   
He would have more time to gather his thoughts properly in regards to all of this- the situation they were in and everything. But for now? Alastor needed rest.  
"I'm glad you're alive too..."   
The deer quietly breathed out, falling asleep soon after.  
  
  
  
  
  


** Chapter 3 **

It had been two days since Alastor had awoken from his ten-day unconscious state and ever since the deer had been making good progress with getting back on his feet again after his injuries. James had been over once the day before to heal Alastor some more and restore more of the house and was supposed to be over that morning too. The deer hoped that today would be the day where he'd be fully able to get back up on his feet.

It was early morning, the sun just starting to rise, its rays peeking through the window as Alastor slowly sat up, looking across at Angel who had slept beside him and stuck to his word of not leaving his lover's side for near anything- something that Alastor truly did appreciate.   
With a yawn, the demon stretched his arms out, looking over the side of the bed at the floor with a sigh. If he could walk on his wounded leg without assistance, then that would be some progress.

Angel was already awake but was simply enjoying the moment of being close to the Radio Demon. His eyes cracked open the moment he felt movement and watched as his lover sat up with nothing less than admiration in those shiny green irises.   
The early morning light coming through the sheer curtains seemed to hit Alastor in such a way that made him look like a divine being; which he really was to Angel, even with the bed head. Of course, he found that cute and good indication that much-needed rest was achieved.

"Mornin'..."  
The spider hummed softly, reaching for the deer's hand with a smile.  
It wouldn't be long before James came along to give the Radio Demon another dose of whatever angelic magic he used to help Alastor heal.

After a couple of moments of waking up, it was at Angel's soft voice calling out from beside him that made the deer turn around, a smile slowly lighting up his face.   
"Good morning, my love."   
He smiled back in return, reaching for Angel's extended hand and bringing the top of his hand up to his lips for a kiss.

The sun shining behind Angel was one of the most beautiful things to Alastor, at that moment. His green eyes were highlighted by the sun, and the fact that the light was shining behind him made it seem like the man himself was glowing that morning. 

"Vous êtes belle aujourd'hui."   
The deer whispered with yet another yawn.

Angel stifled a small chuckle and started to prop himself up on his elbow.  
"Sei sempre bello."  
He replied as he cupped the Radio Demon's cheek after the kiss was placed.

Alastor as he sat up a little more, leaning into the hand upon his cheek.   
"As are you."

Not a moment later there was a knock on the bedroom door, their heaven-bound savior stepping in shortly after.  
"Good morning, gentlemen. How are we this beautiful day?"  
He asked with a wide smile as he moved closer to the bed.

"Yes, we are quite well, thank you."   
Alastor hummed, slowly pulling his gaze away from Angel as he cleared his throat and sat up a little more.   
"I suppose today will be the last of my healing if I'm correct?"   
According to James, after today the Radio Demon was good to be back on his feet- a relief no doubt.

"I'll have to check in with you every once in a while, but yes. After today, you should be up and moving properly again."  
James replied, gesturing for Alastor to remove the necessary amount of clothing so the healing could commence.

Angel slowly sat up and rubbed his face. He also went to run his fingers through his hair but was left unsatisfied in terms of that, still not used to only having one set of arms apparently; almost like a case of phantom limb when someone undergoes an amputation.

"I have your new identities all set for you now as well. I will go over them with you today."  
James added.

As was asked, Alastor began to remove the necessary clothing so that James could access his wounds, nodding at the newly provided information.

"Being able to walk properly will be nice. I'm eager to step outside and get some fresh air."   
Alastor chuckled, straightening himself up and nodding once again in James's direction, implying that he was ready.

The healing itself wasn't painful of course, so Alastor had no issues with this. However, it was a strange sensation to feel all the muscles and everything around the wounded areas being soothed in such a quick way.

"Yes, I apologize that my current position in heaven isn't strong enough to be able to heal you faster."  
James replied, kneeling down beside the bed and carefully placed his hands over the scar on Alastor's leg first.

Angel watched like he always did, leaning over to rest his chin on his lover's shoulder.  
"I got a question..."  
He stated softly.  
"What's heaven like?"

James looked up at Angel for a moment before putting his attention back to his task.  
"Heaven is nothing less than perfect. Always peaceful. Serene."

"And you said position. What's that mean?"  
Angel pressed.

"By position, I mean my status or rank. It's a rather interesting thing, really."  
James replied simply.

Alastor too watched as the final healing process began, a white light emitting from underneath James' hands, the deer being able to feel the healing miracle working.

When it came to heaven, while Alastor had read some things, the majority of those books having been in Lucifer's collection at a time, Alastor didn't know too much about the holy land.

"Yes unlike the chaos of Hell, Anthony, I do believe that Heaven has a pristine order to everything. Ranks and all. However, it's nothing like an overlords status or anything. The concept is entirely different if I am correct."   
The Radio Demon added, glancing over his shoulder where Angel rested his chin.

James simply gave a nod.

"And ranks? What's that supposed to mean?"  
Angel continued, genuinely curious and wondering what his mother's life up there would be like; what her 'rank' would have been.

"Well, there are a fair few ranks. There is no real way to determine what you will get when you get there."  
James explained as he finished with Alastor's leg and shifted to work his shoulder.  
"To give a quick rundown, there are seven ranks. Angels, Virtues, Powers, Dominions, Cherubim, Archangels, and Seraphim."  
James began.

"Angels are simply the lowest and most common rank. We are Earthly visitors and come in many forms and have different specialties. Miracle work for humans, nature, so on and so forth. Virtues are the overseers of both Earth and angels, making sure all is going well and that angels are doing their jobs correctly. Powers are the lower classed warriors and guardians. They watch over Earth and make sure that no demons interfere with Earth. They are also the ones who execute the exterminations. Dominions are middle management. They receive orders from the higher up to pass on to the Virtues and Powers. Cherubim are the keepers of celestial records and hold the knowledge of God. Very rarely are they sent to Earth. Archangels are God's personal warriors and confidents. They keep everyone in line. Lucifer, as you know, was one of them. Finally, the Seraphim are the protectors of the throne."

Alastor slowly nodded at the explanation, knowing the story of Lucifer of course, and knowing of his previous status as an Archangel of heaven. It was interesting to learn of the other ranks though, and their purpose.

Angel listened closely to each explanation as he watched the healing process.   
"Wait. If you're just an angel, then how were you part of the extermination a few years back?"

James sighed and chuckled lightly.  
"I was promoted to be a Powers that year. I was demoted once they found out that I let you escape. I've been working towards getting back to that position since then. Not for another hundred years or so though."

Angel's eyes looked to the floor now, feeling rather guilty for that instance and remembering all that happened after that incident.

"Won't your goal of Powers perhaps be in jeopardy due to the aid and shelter you have provided two demon overlords of Hell, on Earth?"   
Alastor quickly cut in as James moved to work on his shoulder.  
Many times before had Alastor been to Earth and many times had he also brought Angel with him; and it seemed that so far, luck had been on their sides, no angels having come down from above to put them to their deaths quite yet.   
"And surely there will be some other angel out there who knows of our presence here?"

"Everything is in jeopardy with the two of you being here, however, if you stick to the rules I have in place and stay under the radar, I'll be able to divert everyone's attention. There is the option of revoking your demon statuses entirely, living as mortals once again. Though with that comes death, and that will leave you without an afterlife. No Heaven or Hell. Simply nonexistence."  
James explained.

Angel glanced at Alastor for a moment, not really wanting to think about that possibility, but also a little curious about his opinion on it.   
He had always wanted to grow old and die with the love of his life but knowing that would be the end of the line was a rather scary thought.

Alastor was silent for a moment, mind working away as it thought about that for a moment. Of course, that was an option Alastor had thought about before, and to be quite frank, it scared him too.

"No."   
Was all the deer could say right now, not wanting to think about that possibility.

While growing old wasn't necessarily an issue, dying for good was. Not to mention the fact that after having been such a powerful being for so long, the thought of being mortal again was one that made him think of weakness and helplessness. Not something the Radio Demon ever wanted to associate himself with. It was also a matter of pride.

To quickly change that topic, Angel's next thoughts were voiced.  
"Have you met my mom? Or even his?"  
He asked, gesturing to Alastor.

James took his hands away from the Radio Demon's shoulder and looked between the two.  
"I've met everyone there, so, yes. I have."  
He stated before standing straight again.

"What were they like?"  
The spider continued.

"They are two very lovely women. Edward, yours only ever boasts about how wonderful you were and how proud she was of you regardless of your sins. She still loves you even to this minute."  
James paused, taking a breath and held a hand out for the Radio Demon so he could try to stand.

Alastor's breath hitched, eyes widening a little as James mentioned his dearest mother, going as far as to tell him that she knew of his sins and even after all that... still was proud of her son. If that didn't have Alastor's eyes starting to well up, then he didn't know what would. Pulling a hand away from James's grip for a second, the deer quickly wiped at his eyes, deciding to focus on the task of standing for now.

"Anthony, yours was always by your side while you were alive. You actually passed her once on the street after you ran from home. She was sad that your life ended so abruptly and for the things that happened to you. There are many things I could tell you about both of them, but for now, let's see if you're able to stand, Edward."  
James smiled softly, keeping his hands out for Alastor to take so he could help keep him steady.

Angel's eyes started to water at now knowing all of that, moving his chin off of his lover's shoulder so he could try to stand.

To know that he saw her a few times before he died without knowing was a bit of a shock and a little upsetting. To know that she saw him at the worst moments in his life was almost too much to handle.

Glancing over his shoulder at Angel, Alastor gave him a small nod of reassurance before he took both of James's hands and scooted to the side of the bed.   
Taking a moment to breathe, very slowly did Alastor set the bottoms of his bare feet down on the wooden floorboards of his room, an immediate cold settling across the room as a response to the Radio Demon being back on his feet.   
With shaking legs, Alastor slowly stood up, and from his body did a dark shadow akin to his demon form, emerge before taking its place on the wall behind him.

"What about marriage?"  
Angel sniffed, trying to keep himself distracted.  
"When you get married down here, it's usually in 'holy matrimony'. Does that mean anything up there?"

"Marriage means nothing up there, in all honesty. Humans just made the idea up that binding one to another would keep you together forever, when in reality, it's because humans are untrusting and always afraid of abandonment, so they came up with the idea to be committed to one another under God's eyes to hopefully reduce the chances of being left for someone else."  
James explained as he helped Alastor up, the shadow not seeming to bother him too much.

Angel stood as well, looking to the shadow with a raised brow.  
"I guess that makes sense."  
He replied, turning his attention back to his partner.

"See, angels have no need for that sort of bonding. We are all there enjoying each other's company and getting along perfectly fine. We can't have children nor do we need to have children, so partnerships and sex just don't happen. We have no need for it and are free of those desires."  
He explained, making sure the deer was doing alright and watching him closely.

"How do you feel?"  
The angel asked, turning the attention back to the task at hand.

Whatever James was saying, Alastor wasn't listening too much, the deer just focusing on getting steady. However, as soon as he felt his shadows presence behind him, immediately did Alastor gain a small bit of strength back, feeling more like himself then he had done in near two weeks.

"I'm fine..."   
Alastor tiredly huffed out, feeling his shadow steady him as he took a step forwards, his thigh no longer in agonizing pain.

"I will say. Heaven is a place where all desires for those things aren't there? Hm, hah, that's certainly something I wouldn't mind if I hadn't become a demon."   
Alastor chuckled out, glancing back over his shoulder at Angel again with a grin.

Angel smiled a little at that and gave him a wink in return.

"Yes, I wouldn't want to imagine any other eternal life for myself, personally. So pleasant and peaceful."  
James chuckled lightly.  
"The day I visited Hell that once, even with all of the preparation I received, I was still rather shocked at the conditions. Not only are the streets filthy but it also turns you into a grotesque inhuman monster. No indication that you were once human in the first place. Quite horrifying."  
The angel admitted.

"Well, I was happy with what I landed with. 'Course it wasn't a good beginning, but it turned into somethin' great near the end."  
Angel Dust replied, leaning up to kiss Alastor's cheek before excusing himself to use the bathroom.

James simply watched as Angel left the room before turning back to Alastor.  
"Unique."  
He stated.

Alastor smiled, leaning against the wall a little as he watched Angel leave the room, a coy sort of grin on his face.   
"Oh yes, he certainly is wonderfully unique in every way."   
The deer nodded, slowly straightening himself up, leaning away from the wall.

"You know, Hell isn't as awful as one might think. While of course, you are surrounded by idiotic, foolish sinners, it's an environment that's rather thrilling and rich with entertainment to your heart's content! Certainly the scandalous sort of place, I will say."

"Perhaps for someone who finds enjoyment in such content, yes. However, there are some who haven't been exposed to such things and find them rather concerning."  
The angel then paused, making sure the Radio Demon was stable and ready to catch him if he were to stumble.  
"As for Anthony though... how did such a rare thing blossom between the two of you? That is if that's an appropriate question to ask, of course."  
By no means did James intend to pry too far into any business that wasn't his; only to gain insight about how an unheard of and unlikely phenomenon occurred in the conditions of Hell.

Alastor too paused a moment, slowly walking the two or three steps back to the bed and sitting down on the edge.   
"Well, it was quite a coincidental thing, really."   
He began, not having any problem with talking about him and Anthony. He trusted James slightly more now that he'd aided them and so far seemed to have no motive to do anything other than to help them.

"I ran into him completely by chance, and the two of us struck a deal. I offered him freedom, and he promised to assist me in the dethroning of Lucifer. After I freed him of his contract with an overlord, he came to stay with me as I planned Lucifer's demise. With him being around me constantly, I suppose eventually that grew into something more."   
The deer explained, being unable to help but look down at the ring on his finger as he told the story, the pink soul stone shimmering softly.  
"I will admit, I haven't been the perfect partner for Anthony... there was a time where I let him down completely. I only got him back that night he ran into you during the extermination that year and as I'm sure you saw, he was quite upset. However, I'm simply glad that he was able to forgive me after what I did. Even now, I am eternally thankful for that."

James couldn't help but smile a bit at the story.  
"Yes, he was covered in blood and wearing a very large coat from what I recall from that night. He hasn't had it easy, I can say that for sure, but I'm happy that he has you now. You've given him things I couldn't have even come close to, and for that, I thank you for giving Anthony a reason to keep going."

James knelt in front of Alastor and carefully ran his hand over the scar on the deer's leg, examining it a little to determine how often he'd have to heal it again. Angelic weapons were near impossible for someone as minor as James to heal completely, so, over time, the wound would open again and get worse if the treatments stopped entirely.   
Alastor's leg was the worst of the two, having been exposed to the blade for a longer period of time.

"Anthony means the world and all of Hell to me. He brought me here with him to Earth, and you saved both him and I. So for that, I am also grateful. I wouldn't have wanted my Angel to carry on with me gone. I know he wouldn't be happy, and I can't even bear the thought of that."

James paused at the use of 'my Angel', having referred to Anthony like that many times before he passed away as well. It brought a few memories back of those wonderful times they had together, however, pushed it all aside, none of it relevant anymore.   
"Anthony has always been kind-natured and forgiving. Always putting others' needs ahead of his own though sometimes being a little selfish with his intentions as well, but never wanted anything bad to befall those he deemed undeserving."

Alastor looked down as James inspected his leg. While the redness had gone down significantly, there was still a nasty looking scar where the spear had gone in, and it did ache slightly.   
"How bad is it? I understand that it was all serious injury."   
The deer asked, gathering from James' expression alone, that it hadn't completely healed.

"Well, due to my low rank, I don't have the ability to heal it permanently. I think once a week to be safe, and from there once a month. The weapons in possession of Archangels are far more fierce and the damage done never fully heals unless an Archangel themself or a higher being does it... or you amputate the limb, but even that is never one hundred percent successful."  
James explained with a soft sigh.

Of course, amputation was completely out of the question. Alastor quite enjoyed being able to walk properly, so he supposed weekly and eventual monthly visits from James would have to do until a solution was proposed- if a solution was ever proposed that was.

Angel returned to the bedroom, wiping his face dry with a towel.  
"Everything alright?"  
He asked.

As Angel walked back into the room, Alastor perked up a little, nodding at his lover's words.   
"Ah yes, James was simply checking my wounds. The thigh one, especially, is, unfortunately, more serious than I had hoped and will require frequent healings for the foreseeable future. But worry not, my darling."

Angel walked over to the window and opened it to let some air in.   
"It's better than you bein' dead, so I'm glad there's somethin' that we can still do."  
He answered and made his way over to the closet now.   
James had brought some clothes for Angel to wear seeing as he didn't have anything aside from the ones he arrived in.   
Picking out an outfit for both himself and Alastor, Angel walked back over and set the clothes down.

Alastor nodded softly at Angel's response, watching as the spider walked over to the window and then the closet, pulling out some clothes and setting them down.

"How about we get you dressed and take ya down to the sunroom for some air and I can make some breakfast in the meantime. James fixed it up yesterday."  
The spider smiled.

"Why, that sounds like an excellent idea, Anthony."   
Alastor smiled back before glancing back over to James again.   
"Once again, I thank you for your help and everything you have done for us so far."

Snapping his fingers, the Radio Demons shadow slunk it's way over to one of the drawers in the room, pulling out a bow tie and setting that on top of the pile of clothing that Angel had already laid out.   
"Haha, perfect."

James gave a nod.  
"I'm happy to help. After the two of you sit down for breakfast we can all discuss your new identities and I'll answer your questions."

"Better not've given me a nerd name or nothin'."  
Angel stated, getting Alastor's clothes ready as the angel stood and started heading towards the door with a chuckle.

"There are ways to change your name if you don't like what I've given you. Times have changed immensely since the '30s and '40s."  
James stated before leaving the room.

"Oh, I would much appreciate it, James, if you could give Anthony the most 'nerd'-like name that there possibly is if you will."   
Alastor quickly called to the angel as he left the room, the door closing behind him.

The Radio Demon just turned to his lover with a grin, reaching for the clothing that had been laid out.   
"Times may have changed since the early twentieth century, however a gentleman most certainly hasn't. Class and style still are the fundamental foundations of a well-dressed person."   
The deer nodded with his signature smile.

Angel simply glared at his lover at the added comment before James left.   
"I'll fuckin' maim you."  
He then started helping Alastor dress.

"Gentleman? I don't see one around here."  
Angel smirked as he helped the deer into the pair of pants he pulled.   
"Musta slipped out when I came back."

Alastor could only laugh, being able to at least button up his shirt as Angel helped him dress.   
"Why, how awfully mean of you."   
He chuckled.   
"I don't _have_ to be gentlemanly, it's a choice. But class and style are awfully important, as I've mentioned before. I don't know where _yours_ went."  
And with that sly comment, Alastor began to do up his bow tie, flattening his collar down once finished. It felt good to be fully dressed after a while of recovering.

Angel rolled his eyes and started helping Alastor into his pants.  
"Oh ha ha. I only had time to grab a few things before leaving Hell and you were more important. Didn't have the time to grab that shit."  
He said with a light slap of Alastor's thigh and started to undress so he could change.

Alastor couldn't stop grinning at Angel's words, raising an eyebrow at the slap to his uninjured thigh.   
"Ah, well I'm honored that you prioritized me when so many other of your items are so very important."

The spider's body was still very thin and scarred from the neglect and abuse from when he was alive to the time he died. Many of the scars on his back and chest. He wished they would have gone away like the ones Alastor's had from Hell.

Buttoning up the last of his shirt, Alastor sat back on the bed a bit, looking across at Angel with something of a sad smile as he noticed all the scarring on his partner's body, not having seen them before. But, Alastor liked to think that was in the past. Whatever had happened to Angel before he died was now over.

Angel shrugged in reply.  
"I got the most important things with me. Everything else is just stuff."  
He then paused.  
"Speakin' of which..."  
The spider looked around the room just as he finished putting his pants on before getting down on his knees and looked under the bed.

"There you are! Whatcha hidin' for, Nugs?"  
He chuckled, pulling the pig out from under the bed and hugged it with a wide smile before setting it back down to finish getting dressed.

It took Fat Nuggets a while to come around and become comfortable around Angel in his human form but seemed to hide whenever Alastor was awake. Angel supposed the pig still wasn't used to Alastor's new form either.

Alastor watched fondly at the sight of Angel and Fat Nuggets, knowing that of course, the pig would have come along too. Angel cared so much for it as well.

Angel loosely buttoned his shirt as he then stood in front of his lover, offering his hands.

Once both of them were fully dressed, Alastor slowly stood once again, looking to Angel's hands that were outstretched in front of him.

"Think you can walk yet?"  
Angel asked.

"Yes, I think I shall be alright. I'm slightly shaky still; however the more I do it, the quicker I will get better."   
Taking Angel's hands and straightening himself out, Alastor began to steadily walk towards the door, hearing the trotting of quiet feet behind him, Fat Nuggets following along.

The spider opened the door for them once they got there and started slowly leading the deer to the stairs.

"What about these? Think you can manage? If not I'll carry ya."  
He smiled, seemingly a little overconfident with his strength with this new form.

The house was nearly completely restored yet Angel didn't leave his lover's side, so he didn't get to explore at all.   
All he really saw outside of the bedroom was the bathroom, kitchen, and a quick look at the sunroom just off of the kitchen, looking out over the backyard and forest that surrounded the back and sides of the house. He wanted to wait to see more though, let Alastor give him the official tour and tell stories about each of the rooms.

Alastor looked down at the stairs as they got there, everything around him flooding his mind with memories of the past.   
"Yes, I think I shall be alright. It's not that I doubt your strength, Anthony dear- however, your stature is quite... small?"   
But perhaps it would be best for Alastor to try walking.

Slowly, and holding onto both Angel and the stair rail, did Alastor eventually make it to the bottom of the stairs, his thigh still hurting him, however, it was something he could bear.

Once down, Alastor looked around, eye-catching the small latch on the floor that led down to the basement. He was unsure whether James knew about that yet, but decided it would be best to keep quiet about it for now.

"Why, the place looks wonderful!"   
The deer smiled, letting Angel guide him into the kitchen.

Angel couldn't help but smile as they both took a look around, the morning light shining through the windows that lit up the interior.  
"Exactly as you remember?"  
Angel asked, looking to Alastor for a moment before leading him slowly into the kitchen and into the sunroom; the morning air and sun greeting them.

Alastor gave a firm nod, gaze still wandering around as he was lead through the home.  
"Everything is perfect. I'm glad you get to see it too, I always wanted you to see my home as it was, not what it had become ages later."

Angel could feel the warmth and welcoming embrace of the rays as soon as the door opened and stepped in, Fat Nuggets still hot on their trail, stopping once in a while to sniff at something before quickly catching up. It too had yet to explore as well.

The warmth of the sunroom was comforting, the beaming rays were so bright that Alastor had to squint for a moment.

Angel brought his partner to a chair for him to sit in.  
"Right, well, whatcha want for breakfast? Name it and I'll make it."  
He grinned, helping Alastor sit for the time being as Fat Nuggets sat at the deer's feet.

"Aha, well, you can't go wrong with pancakes!"   
He chuckled, that sun still being bright, but having come up from Hell, he supposed any sort of sunlight would be overwhelming at first.

Sitting back in the seat, Alastor crossed a leg over the other and snapped his fingers, pleased to see a book appear in his lap, one he'd seen earlier on a bookshelf in his room. At least his magic wasn't affected at all by his weak state.

"Ah ah ah, no no, none of that, remember?"  
James's voice rang out from beside Alastor, Angel practically leaping out of his skin at his sudden appearance.

"Remember the rules. Any magic will alert the other angels and we certainly don't want that. If you need absolutely anything, do let either myself or Anthony know and we will be happy to retrieve it for you."

Alastor didn't so much as flinch once James suddenly appeared behind him, simply frowning as he looked down at the book he'd just summoned.

"Ah. I see."   
The deer muttered, clearly not too happy about that.

"And does that go for all magic? What about my shadow, I do hope that doesn't count because you can't be rid of it. It's quite impossible without removing my soul completely."   
He hummed, attention staying on the now dust free book as he flicked open to the first page, running a finger across the paper and written ink.

"As little as possible. If something can't be helped, it can't be helped."  
James replied.  
"Oh, and one more thing. I assume this will be of use to you."  
He added, summoning a cane and set it against Alastor's chair before disappearing again.

Alastor watched as James summoned a cane and placed it beside him. It was hardly his microphone, the one which he had unfortunately left behind down in Hell, but it would have to do. And seeing as magic was a no go it seemed, summoning his microphone wouldn't be possible either, much to the Radio Demon's disappointment.   
"Yes, I'm sure I shall find this useful." 

Angel simply stood there, blinking a few times before shaking his head.  
"Alright. I gunna get on breakfast. You stay put."

Leaving the sunroom so the Radio Demon could get some sun and fresh air, he started grabbing what he needed for pancakes and started cooking. It was kind of neat to be working in a fully functional 1920's kitchen again, not having all of those new appliances they had in Hell.

The deer nodded as he was left to bask in the morning sun and air. With everyone out of the room, Alastor once again focused on the book he'd gotten, relaxing into his seat and simply taking the time to read.

Angel made quick work of his cooking, even adding things like fruits and chocolate to some of the pancakes as an experiment. James was kind enough to get them a bunch of different things to try and experience, a lot of it not having been around when they were alive. Not to mention it was all fresh; a huge improvement over the quality down in Hell.

Humming a tune to himself as he cooked and plated the food, Angel grabbed a few things from the refrigerator such as syrup and whipped cream. He set everything on a tray he found and brought everything into the sunroom with a big proud smile.

"Got a mix of different stuff in these. Banana pecan, banana chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, and just plain ones in case y'don't like any of the other kinds."  
He grinned, setting the tray down on the small table and sat beside the deer.

Alastor didn't usually like sweet things at all. To him, they were far too sickly so he generally avoided them as much as possible. However as his lover brought through a tray of pancakes with an assortment of flavors inside each, Alastor had to admit- they did look awfully appetizing. 

Looking down at the page number of the book he was reading, Alastor closed it and placed it to the side, smiling up at Angel as he brought the pancakes to him.

"My dear, they look stunning. Truly a food masterpiece."   
The deer grinned, not wasting a second in digging in with the cutlery that was provided, deciding to taste the blueberry one first. As he ate, the flavors came alive in his mouth, only leaving the deer wanting more.

Angel immediately covered his stack in whipped cream and syrup before beginning to eat as well.   
Fat Nuggets looked up at Angel and put his front trotters on the spider's leg.  
With a roll of his eyes, he cut a pancake in half and fed it to the pig.  
"You're so lucky you're cute."

Both Alastor and Angel ate in near silence, simply enjoying the wonderful meal. That, and Alastor for one was starving, so he wanted to eat as many pancakes as he could get his hands on.

James stepped into the room when they had near finished their meals, summoning two folders, and stood in front of them.  
"I have your identities all set for you. Congratulations, you are now one of the living."

When James entered the room, Alastor pulled a handkerchief out from his pocket and wiped at his mouth before sitting back again, nodding in the angels direction.

"And, what will our names and stories be, if you will."   
Alastor asked, presuming that James had already planned everything out for the two of them.

James handed the two demons a folder each and took their now empty plates, sending them to the sink.

Angel immediately opened the folder and looked at the information.

"Edward, you are now Edward Alastor Levesque. Born October thirteenth, 1989, and raised in Montreal Quebec, Canada. Lived a normal life and left home for college in Toronto, Ontario where you studied nursing."

Alastor too took the folder and slowly opened it, reading along as James told him his name, birth date, and the set origins of his new identity, all of which he was okay with.   
"Yes, I think this will do nicely."   
The deer nodded, looking across at Angel as he was told his identity.

"Anthony, you are now Anthony Graham Martin. Born February ninth, 1992 in Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada. Your family moved around a lot as a child, your family finally settling in Gravenhurst Ontario."

Angel waved a hand to stop James from speaking any more.  
"Okay first of all, why Canada? Why not keep us as Americans? And secondly, what the hell kinda name is 'Anthony Graham Martin'?"

It was clear James agreed to Alastor's request of Angel having an embarrassing name and he wasn't entirely pleased about that.

"They're actually quite common names, Anthony. As I said, you can always go and change them yourself."  
James replied simply.

"But why fuckin' Graham? First thing I think of when I hear that name is a graham cracker. You gotta be kidding me! Ed gets t'keep his middle name!"

As soon as James voiced Angel's new name, Alastor couldn't help the burst of mocking laughter that left his lips, a wide smug grin upon his face at the name James had given.   
"Oh, worry not Graham. I'm sure by Earth's standards today, you will be accepted no matter your name. I hear the world these days is very accepting of many things. Even of disastrous middle names such as Graham."   
And as wonderful as that was, for some strange reason, Alastor felt like it did fit Angel Dust.

Angel glared at Alastor and puffed his chest out a bit to seem a little bigger.  
"You still call me Anthony. Not this shit. No fuckin' way."

"Are you finished with your tantrum?"  
James asked with a raised brow.  
"If I may continue, Edward, you started school in 2009 at Humber college for your bachelor's degree in nursing. Anthony, you moved to Toronto for the same school but for film and television production in 2010. The two of you happened to bump into each other in the cafeteria and your relationship grew. You got married, had your honeymoon here, and decided to move here recently, buying this house and are now fixing it up."  
James explained.  
"All other small details are in your folders. That is just an important and brief explanation."

Angel closed his folder and set it down, folding his arms with a huff.  
"Fuckin' Graham Martin bullshit."  
He muttered, bringing his knees up to his chest. This name change clearly wasn't something he was pleased about.

Alastor just shrugged, smug grin still very much there as James continued on, Angel still sulking in his chair it seemed.   
"Hmm, 2009. Yes, I shall have to research that year, the majority that came before and followed as well."   
Alastor nodded. At least it would give him something to do. With such strict rules, unlike Hell, especially with things that were considered normal down there, up here was completely different meaning there was going to be quite the learning curve for both Angel and Alastor.

"You say the two of us are married? How? Two men are not supposed to be married, let alone in a relationship here on Earth. Hell, of course, is different. However, I can't imagine the world has changed _that_ much."   
Alastor quickly added, having caught the detail of James mentioning the fact that he and Angel were apparently married in their new backstory.

James raised his brows, Angel pulling out of his self-pity party and looked at Alastor.  
"Wait, what?"

"I thought the news would have spread in Hell. The world is rather accepting of this these days. Of course, there are still some naysayers and it's still quite new to some places. So new in fact, Louisiana has made gay marriage legal as of 2015."

Angel's eyes widened a little at that, the joyful shine returning to them.  
"You're serious?! No one ever said anythin' about that down there!"  
He exclaimed.

"Yes, the world is definitely not as you remember it being. There are places that are still very much against it along with people, so you may have to be careful, but it is not against any laws."  
James smiled at the smaller male, even patting his head.  
"As I said, you're both safe here."

Alastor was unexpectedly surprised at that sudden history lesson from James, seeing how clearly overjoyed Angel was at the news. And Alastor too was quite relieved at that it seemed, being able to express his affection for Anthony in public had been a concern of his when he'd awoken to see they'd arrived up on Earth. A hundred years ago, after all, two men even holding hands in public was rather outrageous and unheard of.

"Why, it seems the humans certainly have been busy, ahaha!"   
Alastor laughed, looking across at Angel with a small smile.   
"Now, is there anything else important we will be needing to know about our new identities? Anything you want to tell us before we read through these ourselves?"

James simply shook his head.  
"I don't think so. Though if you do have questions, don't hesitate to ask. And do not throw those away in case you need to refer back to something or would like to add to them."

Angel picked up his folder again and looked through it.  
"One tiny problem. I don't know shit about film and television production."

"Easy fix. I will get you the Earth technology required for internet searches and such so you can have access to any and all information about any topic you can think of."

Alastor, personally, didn't have any questions on much. Only small things which he was sure he could refer to their folders if necessary. He knew a small bit about medical care in general, and hardly doubted he would have to be talking about it to anyone anytime soon.

Angel nodded at that and sat back in his chair.  
"One more thing. Why didn't I take Ed's last name?"

"That... I suppose is one thing I overlooked. Would you like to have Levesque as your surname?"

At the mention of Angel taking his last name, Alastor just shrugged. He'd much prefer that than the other way around of course.

Angel glanced at Alastor with a raised brow.  
"Anthony Lorenzo Levesque?"

"Graham."  
James corrected.

"I ain't goin' with that!"  
The spider stated, leaning forward in his seat again, pointing up at the angel.

"Anthony Graham Levesque sounds wonderful, my dear."   
The deer grinned once again.   
"We can always shorten it to 'Ham. That way Fat Nuggets isn't left out of your name either. See, it works for everyone!"

Angel put his folder down and grabbed two handfuls of his hair, curling in on himself with a growl for a moment before standing up again.

"I'm gunna go do some fuckin' dishes before I break the both of ya."  
He stated, marching right out of the sunroom and into the kitchen, Fat Nuggets following close behind.

James simply raised a brow and turned his attention back to Alastor once the water in the kitchen could be heard running.  
"Definitely not the Anthony I remember. Anyways! Do you have any further requests before I take my leave?"

Alastor just shook his head, chuckling softly to himself as Angel left the room in a huff, the sound of water running soon echoing out in the kitchen as James spoke.   
"Yes... I do have one request."   
Alastor quickly and quietly spoke, presuming that Angel couldn't hear either of them.   
"However, I would much appreciate it if you were not to let Anthony know for now..."

**Chapter 4**

A few more days quickly passed after that, Alastor taking the time to work on his recovery, walking around both the house and outside the front occasionally until eventually after four days or so, he was able to stand and walk completely alone for more than ten minutes at a time.

Of course, Angel had helped him every step of the way, helping him bathe and dress as needed, made sure meals were cooked and ready, and even had James make a few minor upgrades to the house. James visiting them daily too. And as for Fat Nuggets, it was simply enjoying the fact that it didn't have to be kept inside constantly. With no threat of anyone possibly swooping down and picking the pig up for a meal, Angel allowed it out for little roams around the front porch occasionally.

All through the time that Alastor was recovering, the inside and outside of the house had been recovered and restored.

It was a Friday afternoon, almost a whole week since Alastor had begun his recovery of walking again. The deer sat in the sunroom of his home, reading a book quietly, occasionally glancing outside the glass at the sky and smiling to himself as he noted the weather. Beautiful still. It would be getting dark in around an hour, the sun not yet at the point of setting, but it was close.

Angel was sat beside his lover, having finished cleaning up after dinner with Fat Nuggets in his lap, scrolling through some things on the phone that was provided to him by James.

"Y'know there's a little village called Ostuni in Puglia, Italy that's all white and could be easily mistaken for someplace in Greece?"  
He looked to Alastor, showing him the pictures of the village on his phone.  
"In the summertime, all of the local families join together in the streets to enjoy some special meal together. Sounds like a real nice place."  
He smiled.

It was only then that Angel noticed how often Alastor was looking out at the sunset but thought nothing of it. It really was a nice view and a view he hadn't seen in a very long time.

Alastor slowly glanced over his shoulder at the phone Angel was holding up, taking the device into his hand and looking at the pictures of a rather beautiful looking village surrounded by sunshine.   
"Hm, yes. That's beautiful. Italy you say? Perhaps we will get to visit it someday."

It was then that James gave a light knock on the door between the kitchen and the sunroom before stepping inside.  
"Are you ready?"

The deer nodded, handing the phone back just as James entered the room.   
Perfect.

"Ready? What for?"  
Angel questioned.

Slowly standing, Alastor grabbed his cane and turned to Angel.   
"We're going out for a bit."   
He vaguely explained, leaning against the cane as he started towards the door where James was.   
"It's quite a ways away to walk, so James will be kindly assisting us in getting there."

Angel raised a brow, looking at Alastor and James.  
"Do I need t'bring anything? Should I change?"  
He asked as he stood, set his phone on the small table, and set the pig down on the floor, walking over to the two seemingly conspiring men.  
He didn't sense anything negative from Alastor, so he could only assume he was safe.

Alastor simply shook his head, watching as Fat Nuggets trotted over to the corner of the room and lay down there instead.   
"Nope! You just need to bring yourself."   
And for now, that was all he was going to say.

The deer followed James out of the sunroom and towards the front door of the house, all smiles as he turned over his shoulder to look at Angel once again.   
"Are you ready?"

Angel straightened his clothes a bit and followed close behind, looking up at the two, the angel revealing his wings and spreading them out as soon as he was out on the lawn with his arms out towards the others.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess."  
The spider replied, looking up at the deer before making his way down towards the angel with his lover.

Alastor had yet to be conscious when flying with James, so he was sure this was certainly going to be some sort of experience no double.   
Taking hold of one of James's arms as he held them out, Alastor made sure to hold his cane under his arm so that it wouldn't fall.

He would admit, the wings were quite magnificent, especially up close.   
Once Angel had taken a hold of James too, it seemed they were ready to go; and with an almighty beat of those almost blindingly white wings, they were off the ground.

James knew exactly where Alastor wanted to go, having discussed it already.  
It didn't take them long to get to their destination, Angel Dust still unsuspecting until they landed and he had a chance to look around and process where they were.

James let the two demons go once they were steady.

"What're we doin' here?"  
Angel asked as he looked out over the familiar sandy scene and then to Alastor.

"Call for me when you're ready to return."  
James stated as he stepped back and spread his wings once again, quickly leaving the two alone.

Alastor could only smile as they landed and Angel seemed to recognize the place, the sand already beneath them.  
Placing his cane back onto the ground and leaning on it slightly, Alastor simply gestured out towards the sea.

"I figured it would be nice to celebrate our... new lives, I suppose. First official date night on Earth, hm?"   
And just as Alastor had hoped, the timing was impeccable, the sun starting to show the first signs of setting.  
"And what better place to do so, other than here? Our beach."

Angel could feel tears start to sting his eyes and his chest tighten.

This beach meant everything to him, and it seemed to be the same for Alastor as well.  
The place where they had their first kiss. The place they really confessed. The place that sparked their connection.

"I... I couldn't ask for anything better."  
The spider's voice cracked a little as he moved closer to his partner, carefully hugging him.

Alastor could sense an overwhelming sort of happiness coming from Angel and of course, that made Alastor smile more than anything. Bringing an arm in to hug his now-husband, Alastor let his chin rest upon Angel's blonde locks, the deer sighing softly.

"I'm glad you like it, my darling."   
He nodded, pointing to the sun with his cane.   
"I made sure that the sun would be starting to set when we arrived. I would have taken us here sooner, however, I didn't want to only be able to stand for a short while."

Angel pulled away after a few moments and looked up at the Radio Demon with a big smile with tears noticeably ready to spill.

"I love you so much, Edward. You're a pain in the ass sometimes but god damn it, you're lucky I like that."  
He laughed a little and sniffed, wiping his eyes with his sleeve before reaching up to cup Alastor's cheek.

Alastor at that moment, just as he had done all those years ago when he'd first properly kissed Angel in near enough the same spot, suddenly felt a wave of many overwhelming yet good emotions.   
Leaning down with a hand to gently cup Angel's jaw in return, all Alastor could do was laugh softly, nothing but fondness upon his face.   
"I love you too Anthony... always. As long as you want me to, I'll always love you."

And with the beginnings of slight tears in his own eyes, The Radio Demon closed the gap between them. Anthony and Alastor sharing a gentle kiss together upon the beach where their relationship had more or less began, just as the sun had started to set.

Angel couldn't help but smile as they shared a sweet and tender kiss, wrapping his arms around the Radio Demon's neck and began to sway and hum softly.

From there they danced like they had the first time they visited the beach under identical moonlight and stars, the two demons humming and singing their songs together as Alastor guided Angel through the steps just as he had done years earlier. A celebration to mark the death of the past, their afterlives now something new and beautiful.

It was in the coming days after their time on the beach that the two briefly returned to Hell and grabbed everything they would be needing for the future.   
Angel indeed got the chance to send a final note to his sister, recounting the events after their double date, where they were currently and while they would never be able to return to Hell again, he was able to let her and Stewart know that he and Alastor were safe and well, Fat Nuggets included.

After that, no one ever saw or heard from the notorious Radio Demon or the overlord Angel Dust again.

There is some speculation amongst demons that both Alastor and Angel never really left Hell. Permanent death or otherwise. Some say if you listen to the static of the now dead and silent radio channels down in Hell, you'll still hear them both. Fragments of their voices, broken and brief conversations, still living on from _somewhere._ Unable to fully return to the underworld.   
However, whether that was true or not, could neither be confirmed or denied, the only souls down in Hell knowing the answer being Molly and Stewart. The radio they had in their home was always on and tuned to a dead channel, white noise always playing with a singular exception.

In reality, the lovers that beat the many odds against them continued to reside on Earth, thanks to the help of their friend from heaven, alongside their sweet pet pig. With nothing but happiness and love between the two, it was a good thing they managed to escape the eternal damnation of Hell, instead now living for an eternity in the place they held most dear. 

Nothing but perfection and bliss.

☽⊰⋰𝓕𝓲𝓷⋱⊱☾


End file.
